Burden of Guilt
by Cloud van Dyk
Summary: Just as their lives were going so well, everything is changed for and between Haruka and Michiru as hard decisions had to be made and their consequences must be faced. With Haruka blaming Michiru and Michiru blaming herself, a couple destined to be together might fall apart after all.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Yup, here we go with another one, as promised in my previous fic :) Special thanks for this one goes to dearest Jen, who helped me figure out several moments where I got stuck and listened to my whining whenever that happened. Couldn't have done it without you, girl! :D

Disclaimer: You know how it goes, I own nothing.

Burden of Guilt

_Guilt (noun)_

_A feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or imagined. _

* * *

The small room was mostly dark, the only light coming from the screen of the laptop standing on the office table in the middle of it; the only sounds were the noises created by the typing of the tall blonde using said laptop, her brow furrowed in concentration as she worked out the details on the latest contract she had been offered to handle.

Stopping her typing for a few moments, the blonde read through the last changes she had made, then nodded to herself, content with the offer her newest client had been made; and then, her concentration slipped and she winced, the brief moment of being unfocused enough to bring her pain back to her attention, her whole leg throbbing by now, after hours of sitting in front of the laptop, despite the comfortable office chair she was using.

Glancing at her watch, she calculated how long it had been since she had taken one of her painkillers; figuring that enough time had passed, she then snatched up the small orange pill bottle and opened it with a move long and well-practiced, letting one of the round white pills fall on her palm and swallowing it dry moments later.

Just as it made its hard path down her throat, a knock from the door gained her attention, and she still took the time to put the lid back on the small bottle before she called out "Yes", her gaze darkening immediately when the door opened and familiar blue eyes gazed at her, filled with a concern she didn't want to care about.

"Haruka", Michiru stated, stopping on the threshold awkwardly, "it's late, you should get some rest now, you've been in here for hours…"

"I'm not done yet", the blonde replied indifferently, the lack of emotion in her voice making the aqua haired girl flinch visibly, "and I need to finish this today."

"Alright", Michiru gave back after a second, as always finding it hard to hold the other woman's gaze, hurt by the indifference she saw in the teal eyes, "Setsuna-chan made dinner, if you want to I can bring you some, you didn't eat yet, did you…?"

"No", the taller woman had to admit, "and fine, if you want to bring something up, go ahead."

Nodding, the violinist stood there for a moment longer, her heart sinking when immediately, Haruka focused on her laptop again, dismissing her without even looking at her; she figured that by now, she should have gotten used to it, and that she deserved it anyway, but she still couldn't stop it from hurting, wishing for nothing else than the blonde to look at her with any other emotion than her indifference, even if it'd be hatred or disdain, something she was sure she could've dealt with better than the simple lack of care.

"You need anything else?" Haruka's voice distracted her from her ponderings; she swallowed heavily, fighting down the urge to tell her what she needed from her, that she needed her love again and her tender embraces, merely shaking her head in reply instead, somehow managing to keep her voice steady when she told the blonde that she'd get her something to eat now.

"You do that", the taller woman muttered, already focused on the laptop again; Michiru looked at her for another moment, then finally turned and left the room, gently closing the door behind herself.

Taking in a deep breath, she leaned her back against the wood and closed her eyes, fighting hard to keep her composure; for a few seconds, she felt like crying, then finally regained control over her emotions, her face a carefully composed mask as she made her way to the kitchen where Setsuna had put Haruka's share of the dinner into the fridge.

"I don't know why you keep this up", a melodious voice came from the living room as she moved past it; she flinched, then stopped walking and turned to look at the elder woman, a small sigh escaping her as she shrugged.

"It's the least I can do", she then told her, prompting Setsuna to put down her book and get up from her seat, concern written all over her face as she moved closer to her fellow Senshi, "after I…"

"Don't get started on this again", the Senshi of time and space interrupted her, shaking her head, "we've all told you a dozen times, it wasn't not your fault."

"It was", the violinist insisted, shaking her head when Setsuna looked as if she wanted to protest once more, the saddened tone of her voice when she went on clenching up the elder woman's heart. "It was my fault, and we all know it… please don't get this the wrong way, but I'm really not in the mood to discuss this again, and I promised Haruka I'd bring her up dinner…"

"Fine", Setsuna almost grumbled, not liking it to see her friend like this, "you do that then… is she still working?"

Nodding, Michiru forced herself to smile at the other woman, not caring if Setsuna noticed how fake her smile was; the two looked at each other for another moment, then the aqua haired girl finally moved on, making her way to the kitchen, leaning against the counter there as she waited for the food to heat up in the microwave.

With a small sigh, she looked up at the ceiling, knowing that the room which served as Haruka's office ever since the incident was located right above her head; again, she silently wished that she just could go up there and enter and be welcomed with an embrace and a kiss instead of uncaring looks and words, a lump once more forming in her throat as she thought of everything that had happened between the blonde and her ever since…

She cut the thought off before it could be fully formed, not wanting to go through the painful memories once more; fortunately, the small beeping noise of the microwave distracted her sufficiently, and once again she forced the carefully created mask of composure back in place before she removed the plate and made her way upstairs, as always when she walked up the stairs asking herself why Haruka had chosen a room on the first floor as her office, yet another small sigh coming from her as she pondered the fact that she couldn't just ask her anymore, something which wouldn't have been the slightest problem half a year ago.

Once again, she had to take a moment to compose herself before she knocked the door of the blonde's office; a gruff "Yes" came from behind the wood, and she entered the room once more, holding the plate with the food in front of her as if it was some sort of shield as she approached the office desk.

"Your dinner", she stated the obvious, making sure that no important papers were lying on the desk before she put the plate down; Haruka let out some agreeing noise in response, not even looking at her, and for a moment, Michiru felt the urge to grab her and force her to do so, even though she knew it would only make things worse.

"Just leave the plate here when you're done", she said instead, her gaze briefly wandering to the pill bottle and her heart clenching up when she saw that yet again, there were less pills in it than there had been the day before, "I'll clean it up… I'll be downstairs in the living room in case you need anything…"

"Yeah", the blonde gruffly replied, still not looking at her, fully focused on the screen of her laptop; Michiru looked at her a moment longer, then turned without another word and left the room, once again carefully closing the door behind herself. Just like before, she remained in front of it for a few more moments, taking in a few deep breaths to calm herself; then, she mumbled "I'm sorry" to the wooden surface before she finally made her way back downstairs, not sure if Haruka even had heard her, but knowing it wouldn't make a difference even if she had, not after what she had done.

* * *

It took another one and a half hours until Haruka finally was satisfied with the contract and saved the finished document, reading through it once more afterwards to make sure no typos had been overseen and no important clauses had been forgotten; nodding to herself, she pressed the save button once more, just to be on the safe side, then closed the document and shut the computer down, another knock coming from the door just as the machine switched itself off.

"Yeah", she called out, not bothering to try and sound polite – with Hotaru already in bed and Setsuna pretty much avoiding her ever since the incident, it could only be one person, her deduction confirmed when the door opened and Michiru stood there, looking at her, the mere sight of the violinist causing Haruka's mood to drop.

"Just want to get the plate", Michiru mumbled, waiting for the blonde to nod before she moved to the desk, noticing the dark laptop screen as she picked up the empty plate, glad to see that Haruka at least had taken the time to eat.

"Done for today?" she asked, giving her best to sound casual; again, the blonde just nodded, snapping the laptop shut afterwards as if to underline her gesture, Michiru watching with the emptied plate in hand how she then picked up the pill bottle and let it slide into her pocket, the aqua haired girl taking a step back to give her some room to get up.

For a few more moments, Haruka remained in her chair, as if she was silently prepping herself to get up at last; and then, she grabbed the cane which was leaning against the desk next to her, leaning heavily on it as she came to her feet at last, Michiru's heart clenching up as she watched how the blonde took a step away from the desk, as always favouring her right leg, putting her weight on the cane instead of on the limb.

"I'm going to bed", the former racer now told her, shaking her head when the aqua haired girl offered to help her down the stairs in response; it wasn't the first time that she made this offer, and it wasn't the first time that it was declined, but still Michiru didn't give up, offering her help every day and handling the disappointment and pain at the rejection anew each time.

Without another word, Haruka moved past her, each low _thump _of her cane on the carpeted floor reinforcing Michiru's guilt about what had happened to her; with a heavy heart, the aqua haired girl watched how the taller woman made her way to the staircase, putting as little weight as possible on her right leg, each labouring step she took reminding Michiru of what she had caused and why she was accepting the blonde's behaviour towards her, yet another apology dying on her lips as she once more realized how useless it would be to say those words another time.


	2. Chapter 2

In the next morning, Haruka was the first to wake up, torn out of her sleep by the throbbing pain in her leg, as it happened every day; next to her, Michiru still was slumbering soundly, once again making the blonde ponder why they actually still were sleeping in the same bed, not having touched each other or even seen each other naked for the last six months, ever since she…

She grimaced at the painful thoughts, then forced them aside, not wanting to linger on what had happened to her; with a low grunt, she sat up in the bed, the movement being enough to intensify the pain in her leg, and she grit her teeth while she reached for the pill bottle on the nightstand, swallowing one of them dry, by now not needing water anymore to wash them down.

Frowning, she looked at the contents of the bottle afterwards, realizing that she'd need to have it refilled soon; holding back a sigh, she put the bottle back on the nightstand, then grabbed the cane, once again realizing how much she hated to be so depending of the wooden stick as she got out of bed, gritting her teeth when the pain in her leg intensified yet again, despite her putting most of her weight on the cane instead of on the damaged limb.

Grunting under her breath, Haruka made her way out of the bedroom and to the adjoined bathroom; she could hear noises of activity coming from the kitchen, accompanied by the voices of Setsuna and Hotaru, the two chatting idly as they prepared breakfast together. For a moment, Haruka stopped in front of the shower, listening to the voices of her housemates, thinking back to a time when she would have joined them happily and eagerly; now though, she was happiest when they left her alone, not wanting them to see her more than absolutely necessary.

Briefly, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, then moved to sit on the edge of the bathtub to take off her pyjama, needing both hands to do so and knowing that standing on her ruined leg without the cane wasn't really an option – God knew that she had tried more than once, even after her doctor had repeatedly told her that it wouldn't support her weight anymore, and she had ended up on all fours each time, gritting her teeth against the horrendous pain and fighting down tears of humiliation and hurt.

_Damn you, Michiru, _she thought to herself as she pulled the pyjama top over her head, then carelessly tossed it aside; and then, she had to remove her pants and boxers, as always avoiding to let her eyes fall on the nasty looking scar on her upper leg, not wanting to see the hardened white tissue and the malformed flesh beneath it.

Leaning on the cane heavily again, she took the two steps to the shower, glaring at the seat which had been installed in it just for her; this accommodation, just one of many which had been made after the incident, only made it all too clear to her that she was a cripple now, unable to do the things she had done and loved before it all had happened, not even able to live her every day life the way she had before.

Gritting her teeth yet again, she held on to the shower door as she leaned the cane against the wall, then entered the shower and sat down, stretching out her leg, still avoiding to look at the traces of the damage which had been done to it; and even though she gave her best not to do it, she found herself thinking back yet again, to the moment her life hadn't only been changed, but ruined, all her dreams and ambitions shattered within the blink of an eye.

_The meeting was scheduled in an hour, and she'd been looking forward to it all day – if she'd manage to convince the sponsor she'd meet soon of her talent and skill, he'd be the one who'd supply the amount still needed to let her get into the highest leagues of professional racing, something she had been working for with all her energy ever since Galaxia had been defeated and they had peace and time to pursue their dreams._

_Even though she knew that she should be nervous about such an important meeting, Haruka was relaxed and calm as she steered her convertible through the streets of Tokyo, just driving for the fun of it before she'd have to go to the café and meet the man; she had enough confidence in her abilities to know that she'd easily convince the possible sponsor to invest his money into her career, smirking to herself as she already thought of the racing car she'd get, already looking forward to driving said car, barely able to wait for taking control over the vehicle and show everyone just how good she was. _

_The ringtone of her cell phone started to blare from her pocket, distracting her from those pleasant thoughts; slowing the car slightly, Haruka removed one hand from the steering wheel to get the phone out, briefly glancing at the display, a smile curling her lips when she saw that it was Michiru calling her, the mere thought of her partner and lover making her heart beat faster._

"_Hey, Sweetie", she greeted her, momentarily wondering if it wouldn't be smarter to stop the car, then deciding against it, "what's up?"_

"_Nothing special, just wanted to hear your voice", Michiru let her know, and she could practically hear the smile on her face; she chuckled lowly, and then Michiru was saying something but she couldn't hear her anymore because the frantic honking drowned out her voice, startling her, making her glance to the right, just in time to see the delivery van approach at high speed, the terrified look on the driver's face, her eyes going wide as the phone slipped out of her hand and then…_

She let out a low groan as a shudder ran through her at the memory of the pain and the shock; clenching her fist, she brought it down hard on her thigh, nearly crying out at the fresh pain this caused to shoot through her leg, all the way from her hip down to the ankle.

"Damn you", she mumbled under her breath again, clenching her fist so tight that her nails bit into her palm; for a moment, she felt like crying, then managed to swallow her tears, setting her jaw as she fully pushed those thoughts aside and focused on her morning hygiene, not willing to dwell on the seconds which had ruined her life any longer.

* * *

When she entered the kitchen quite some time later, now dressed in clothing more suitable for meeting other people than her pyjama's, Setsuna was already gone, probably having retreated to her room to work on her latest fashion designs; Hotaru was still there, sitting at the kitchen table and reading the morning newspaper while she ate her cereal and drank her cocoa.

"Haruka-papa", she greeted the blonde as she entered, putting the paper down and smiling at the tall blonde; almost automatically, Haruka smiled back at her, the only person in this household whom she still treated as she had before the incident, "how are you today?"

"As always", the former racer let her know, giving her best to sound casual as she moved over to the coffee machine, glad to see that Setsuna had made fresh coffee before she had retreated to her room; opening the cupboard right above the machine, she got out a clean cup, placing it on the counter before she made her way to the fridge and opened it, only to freeze in place when Michiru's voice came up behind her.

"Good morning", the violinist greeted, looking at the taller woman's back, noticing how Haruka's fingers tightened around the handle of her cane at hearing her voice; she let out an unarticulated grunt in response to the greeting, which was more than Michiru usually got from her, Hotaru giving her a short, but dismayed look before she smiled at the aqua haired girl, giving her best to sound cheerful when she replied in a more proper way. "Good morning Michiru-mama, how are you?"

"Been better", Michiru replied at once, her gaze never leaving Haruka; if the blonde noticed, she decided to ignore it though, simply removing the milk from the fridge at last and making her way back to the counter, the violinist's heart clenching up yet again at the other woman's limping steps and the way she had to lean on the cane to move through the room.

"Haruka", she addressed her directly after a moment, momentarily glad when at least, Haruka looked at her in response, the coffee can in her grip hovering over the empty cup, "Makoto-chan called while you were in the bathroom, they're all meeting at her house, she wanted to know if you're coming, too…"

"Why should I", the blonde replied rather harshly, the tone of her voice making Hotaru wince before she gave Michiru a concerned look, worried about how her surrogate mother would react to this, "I'm not really part of the team anymore, am I."

"They're still your friends", the aqua haired girl reminded her, giving her best to keep her voice calm and to not let it show how much that response had hurt her, reminding her of yet another thing she had cost Haruka, "and it's not about our duties, just friends meeting…"

"I can't", Haruka still refused to join the gathering, "I have work to do. But you can say Hi to them from me if you want to."

"…alright", Michiru agreed after a moment, asking herself if Haruka would have gone, had she said she wouldn't; then, she realized that even then, the blonde would have declined, still not wanting anyone to see her in her crippled state more than absolutely necessary, and a mere gathering of friends surely didn't count as a necessity for her anymore.

"I'll take my phone along", she let the blonde know, more to break the uncomfortable silence which was forming than to really inform her, "so, if you need anything, just call me…"

"I don't think that'll be necessary", Haruka replied coldly, making Hotaru wince once more, "you've done more than enough."

The words had the same effect a physical blow might have had, the violinist flinching visibly – before she nodded, swallowing with obvious difficulty, tears still glistening in her eyes when she looked up again, despite her hard tries to hold them back.

"And I'm sorry", she told the taller woman, "I never wanted…"

"I got work to do", Haruka interrupted her, still not willing to listen to her, "and I don't want to be disturbed."

"Haruka-papa", Hotaru started, but one look from Michiru was enough to make her fall quiet; she watched unhappily how her papa snatched up the coffee cup, then left the kitchen and made her way upstairs, the thumping sounds her cane produced on the carpeted and wooden floor echoing through the quiet house until the door leading to her office fell close behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews and the support, I really appreciate it. :)

* * *

Even though she was much more mature than other kids her age, Hotaru had not the slightest idea what to do as she watched how her Michiru-mama made her way to the kitchen table and slumped down on the nearest chair, then buried her face in her hands; after just looking at her in concern for a few moments, Hotaru finally got up and made her way to the violinist's side, placing a hopefully reassuring hand on the elder woman's shoulder.

"She shouldn't say such things to you", she then said the first thing which came to her mind; in response, Michiru took in a deep breath, then finally looked up at her, her eyes now dry, but filled with so much sadness that Hotaru felt close to tears as well.

"She's right, though", Michiru almost whispered, shaking her head before Hotaru could reply, "and don't tell me she's not, I know she is, it's my fault that she…"

"It's not", Hotaru finally managed to get in some protest, "you did what you had to do, and you know that!"

"And I only had to do this to her because it was my call which made her crash", Michiru argued in reply, clearly not willing or ready yet to accept that she wasn't to blame for what had happened, "I know you mean well Hime-chan, but… It's my fault…"

She swallowed hot and salty tears again as she fought of the horrible moments she had witnessed the accident; one moment, Haruka and she had been happily talking on the phone, and in the next…

…_in the next she heard loud honking through the line, her heart racing in her chest as she suddenly realized that something was very, very wrong; frantically, she said Haruka's name again and again, the only response being the increasing volume of the honking – before a terrible cacophony of bending metal and shattering glass forced her to move the phone away from her ear._

"_Haruka!" she nearly yelled into the receiver moments later, her grip on the phone tightening until the plastic crackled ominously, "Haruka! Are you alright?!" _

_Only now, she realized that the connection had been cut off shortly after she had removed the phone from her ear; not sure if she should panic or cry or both, she quickly put the phone back into her pocket, then almost jumped into her shoes and jacket, halfway out the door before she realized that she had no idea where Haruka had been when the crash had happened. _

_Stopping dead in her tracks, she nervously ran both hands through her long hair, feeling awfully helpless all of a sudden; and then, she slumped against the wall as she realized that there was nothing she could do now but wait, knowing that whichever hospital Haruka would be taken to would call her, the two of them having listed each other as their emergency contact. _

"_Maybe she won't even have to go to the hospital", she then tried to convince herself that maybe, things weren't that bad, "maybe she was lucky and didn't get hurt…"_

_Closing her eyes, she tried to forget how awful the crash had sounded through the phone; she took in another deep breath, telling herself that surely, Haruka would be alright, that destiny wouldn't be so cruel to take her away from her, now that they had finally defeated their final enemy and were living in times of peace, with only a few left-over random daimons popping up every now and then._

With a watery sigh, Michiru shook her head lightly to get the memories out of her mind, then gave Hotaru another sad look, the young girl only squeezing her hand reassuringly in reply, yet again having no idea what she could say to ease her distress.

"It was an accident", she finally told the violinist, giving her hand yet another squeeze, "it was neither your fault, nor Haruka-papa's… And she'll realize that too, in time…"

"If I hadn't called her, and distracted her, she wouldn't have crashed", Michiru whispered in reply, staring down on her hands, a few teardrops landing on the pale skin moments later, "and if she hadn't crashed, they never would have had to… It ruined her life, and it's my fault…"

Hotaru squeezed her hand once more in reply, giving her a sympathetic look; with a few deep breaths, Michiru regained her self-control, wiping her eyes before she got up from the chair again, forcing herself to smile at the child, reaching out and caressing her hair tenderly, making Hotaru smile as well a moment later.

"I better go", Michiru let her know, "and freshen up before meeting the Inners. You should get ready for school, Hime-chan…"

"Yes", Hotaru nodded, then surprised the aqua haired girl by hugging her; after a moment, she returned the embrace, forcing yet another smile on her face before she pulled back and made her way into the bathroom, not wanting the Inners to know that she had cried when she'd meet them later on.

* * *

"Michiru-chan!" Usagi cried out with her usual enthusiasm the moment Michiru stepped through the door, jumping up from her seat and rushing to hug the aqua haired girl, "how nice of you to come! Haruka-chan couldn't make it?"

"Unfortunately not", Michiru replied, with yet another fake smile firmly in place, "she's got work to do, you know…"

"I'm glad her career as a sports agent seems to be working so well", Ami commented, briefly looking up from her book and at Michiru, "but it's a pity she didn't come with you."

"Yes, well", the violinist replied, hoping and praying that they would change the topic soon, not sure how much longer she'd be able to hold up her composure if they'd keep talking about Haruka, her mind racing as she tried to find a topic which would distract them from her blonde partner.

_If you can still call her your partner, _she bitterly thought to herself, her emotions briefly showing on her face, _it's not like you're treating each other the way a couple would… The way you did before the accident._

"She's still blaming you, isn't she", Makoto stated with surprising directness, even though her gaze softened a bit when Michiru let out a wince in reply, Usagi looking at the elder Senshi in concern and reaching out with one hand to touch hers.

"She shouldn't", the future queen let her friend know in a soft voice, "it wasn't your fault."

"We've been through this before", Michiru gave back with a sigh, giving the blonde girl an unhappy look, "I shouldn't have called her, if I hadn't, none of this would have happened…"

"She shouldn't have answered", Rei was the one to bring up the counterargument this time, something they had been through a million times by now, "and she shouldn't treat you like that."

"It doesn't matter", Michiru sighed, sitting down on the nearest chair; she wasn't exactly willing to have this discussion yet again, but on the other hand, she had known that the topic would come up again, with all of the Inner Senshi worried about Haruka and her, and none of them liking how things were between the couple.

"It's still my fault", the aqua haired girl went on, looking down on her hands once more, "if I hadn't called her, she wouldn't have crashed her car, and if I hadn't told her doctor to…"

She couldn't even say out loud what she had told the doctor to do, but they all knew what she was talking about, and this time, it was Ami who spoke up again, her voice calm and kind, making the violinist look at her.

"You had to, or she would have died", the blue-haired girl pointed out, "it was the only chance she had."

"Yes", Michiru replied, with the bitter tone back in her voice, "and now she's alive, but can barely use her leg anymore, not to mention the fact that she despises me and is close to becoming a shut-in because she doesn't want anyone to see her that way…"

"She knows we wouldn't care", Usagi mumbled, sounding so sad all at once that it made Michiru look at her in surprise, "she's our friend, we don't care if she can walk properly or not, I wished so much that she'd come here today…"

She sniffled, making them all fear that one of her famous crying fits would follow; instead though, she remained quiet for a few more moments, then looked at Michiru again, the warmth in her gaze causing the violinist's heart to clench up.

"Tell her that we miss her, Michiru-chan", Usagi nearly pleaded, grasping the elder woman's hands yet again, "and that we want her to come to our meetings again."

"I told her we'd meet here today", Michiru replied after a moment, unable to look the future queen in the eyes any longer as she spoke on, "but she didn't want to come, she doesn't want to be around me anymore and she thinks she's not part of the team anymore…"

"Of course she is!" Usagi nearly yelled, making them all jump at the loudness of her voice, "even if she can't fight with us anymore, she's still Sailor Uranus and she always will be! Tell her that, too! That's an order of your queen!"

"Usagi-chan", Rei rolled her eyes while Michiru, to the delight of everyone, smiled slightly, an honest and genuine smile this time, "you're not queen yet, so don't try to order them around."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Usagi bristled back at once, letting go of Michiru so she could stand up straight and for once tower over the sitting Rei, "I may not be queen yet, but I will be some day, and then they have to listen to me!"

"Not if you give stupid orders", the fiery-tempered Senshi shot back, and within seconds, a heated argument had started, the rest of the group rolling their eyes in annoyance while Michiru, for the first time in days, let out a small giggle, suddenly thankful that she had come here after all, glad about the distraction the two fighting girls were providing from her every day problems and worries.

Then, she thought of Haruka again, how the blonde now sat in her office alone and worked a job she hated, providing aid and contacts and management for people who did what she had been doing before the accident and had loved, in chronic pain due to her damaged leg and unable to walk even a few steps without the help of her cane, and her heart sank; next to her, Makoto noticed her sudden change of mood back to worse and reached out to give her hand a tender squeeze, a reassuring look accompanying the gesture when Michiru glanced at her, silently trying to tell her that soon, everything would be okay again, something the aqua haired girl found almost impossible to believe.


	4. Chapter 4

At the same time, Haruka sat in front of her laptop, staring at the screen without really seeing the words written on it; every now and then, her gaze would move to the cane leaning against the desk next to her, and she glared at it, hating what it stood for and what it meant for her.

Since Hotaru had gone off to school and Setsuna was busy working in her room, the house was uncharacteristically quiet; Haruka still remembered well how it had been filled with laughter and joy before the accident, something which had vanished along with her ability to walk properly when she finally had been allowed to leave the hospital and go back home.

Now, she reflected bitterly, there barely was any joy around anymore; she still was as kind with Hotaru as she always had been, but the love Michiru and she had shared seemingly had died during her stay in the hospital and when she had learned what the aqua haired girl had allowed to be done to her, her hands clenching into fists again at the mere thought, the pain which radiated from her leg again only underlining her anger and bitterness about the whole situation.

Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath, finding herself wondering what Michiru and the Inner Senshi were up to right now, if they were having fun without her or if they were discussing what had happened to her, something she knew they had done before – Michiru never had told her directly that they had, but she'd overheard her talking about it to Setsuna, and the thought of all the Senshi talking about her and how her life had been ruined only increased her anger.

"Why did this have to happen to me?" she whispered to herself, not sure whom she was asking. "Everything was going so well, my career was really taking off, and then… Why? Am I not allowed to be happy?"

All at once, her anger vanished into nothingness, replaced by sadness so great that it almost made her choke; she squeezed her eyes shut to fight against the tears, then suddenly pushed her chair back from the desk and came to her feet, gripping the wooden edge for support as she ignored the cane, something she had done six dozen times before and something which always had ended the same way.

"You can do this", she still mumbled to herself, not knowing and not caring if perhaps, Setsuna could hear her in her room downstairs; gritting her teeth, she let go of the desk and took a hesitating step away from it, and the moment she tried to put weight on her right leg, it gave in beneath her with a bright flash of pain so big that it actually made her see stars as she slumped down to the ground, ending up on all fours with a low thump and a cry of frustration, slamming her fist down onto the carpet while her leg trembled uselessly and uncontrollably.

Not even daring to try and stand up, the blonde rolled over on the carpet, then moved backwards with shuffling moves vaguely reminding of a crab until her back hit the wall; squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to will the now brightly burning pain away, cursing herself for her stubbornness which had led to yet another useless attempt of trying to walk without the support of the cane, despite all the failed tries she had made before.

Forcing her eyes open again, she looked longingly at the orange bottle of painkillers standing on her desk; judging from how her leg felt right now though, they might as well be standing up on the moon – not even if she'd try to crawl, as humiliating as that would be, she'd make it to the table, not with the way her leg was howling at her in pain, feeling as if someone had dozed the muscles and sinews inside with gasoline and had set them on fire.

Feeling sweat form on her brow, and briefly marvelling at the fact that people actually could sweat from pain, Haruka leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, taking slow and deep breaths as she tried to will the pain away, finally unable to stop her tears from falling as she sat there so helpless and hurting, once again asking herself why this had to happen to her.

* * *

When Michiru returned to the house she shared with Haruka, Setsuna and Hotaru, it was quiet, something which had been a rare occurrence before the accident – often, she'd find Haruka and Setsuna in the kitchen, sharing jokes and laughter, or her blonde partner and their adopted daughter in the garage, with Haruka working on the car and explaining everything to an eagerly listening Hotaru.

Holding back a sigh at how quiet their home had become ever since the crash, Michiru took off her shoes and jacket, then moved to Setsuna's room, knocking the door and waiting for the elder woman to call out "Yes?" before she opened; immediately, Setsuna smiled at her and asked her how the meeting with the Inners had been, prompting the aqua haired girl to shrug and lean against the doorframe quite gracefully as she replied.

"As always", she let the Senshi of time and space know, "at first we had quite the serious topic, and then Usagi and Rei started fighting."

"Some things never change", Setsuna commented, making Michiru smile slightly and nod – before she grew serious again and asked her friend if she knew how Haruka was doing, not surprised when the elder woman declined.

"Haven't seen her since she went up to the office", Setsuna then added, not even trying to sound apologetic – since she didn't agree with the way Haruka treated Michiru ever since the accident, the relationship between the former racer and her had noticeably cooled off during the last six months, making Michiru wonder if soon, Hotaru would be the only one of their small unorthodox family Haruka would be kind to.

"I'll go and check on her", she told Setsuna, ignoring the dismayed look she received for her words, but at least, Setsuna didn't try anymore to convince her that she didn't need to look after the blonde that way as long as Haruka was treating her like crap, "just to make sure she ate something."

"You do that", Setsuna sighed, knowing it'd be a waste of time to try and talk the aqua haired girl out of this; smiling at her, Michiru retreated from the room and closed the door behind herself, then made her way upstairs, her smile fading away once again as she approached the door leading to Haruka's office.

Taking in a deep breath, she steeled herself for the indifference she's surely be treated with again, then knocked the door; her whole body tensed as she waited for the blonde's gruff voice to come up behind the wood, and it took her almost a minute to realize that there wasn't any answer, the violinist frowning to herself as she knocked yet again, this time accompanying the knock with a questioning "Haruka?".

When the office stayed silent yet again, Michiru had a few moments to wonder if maybe, Haruka had gone out without telling Setsuna; then, she realized how unlikely this was to happen, knowing how much the blonde hated it to go out into public with her cane and her limp, and right after that realization had come to her, she heard the weak groan from behind the door, her heart suddenly beating up to her throat as within the blink of an eye, a million of unpleasant scenarios ran through her mind, ranging from Haruka falling and hitting her head on the edge of the desk to the former racer taking too many of her painkillers and ending up with an overdose.

Pushing all concerns about how Haruka might react to this in case nothing bad had happened, but she just was doing something harmless which had kept her from hearing the knock, like talking on the phone or listening to music or perhaps simply being too focused to notice, Michiru pushed the door open and stepped into the office; she just had taken in another breath to say her partner's name again, but the word died on her lips as she spotted the blonde, momentarily feeling as if she'd end up on the carpet right next to her, possibly with a heart attack or spontaneous apoplexy.

"Haruka!" she finally managed to cry out as she rushed to where the blonde was sitting on the ground, her back leaned against the wall; her face was dreadfully pale, the skin glistening with sweat, dark sweat stains on her shirt as well, her eyes so full of pain when she looked at Michiru that it made the violinist's heart clench up.

"Haruka", she repeated, making her way over to the blonde and kneeling down next to her, "what happened?"

"I tried to walk", the blonde whispered in reply, her hoarse voice and puffy eyes showing Michiru that she had cried, "and it didn't work out, of course it didn't… it hurts Michiru…"

It was the first time since the revelation of what the doctors had been forced to do that Haruka spoke to her with something else than indifference and coldness in her voice; the aqua haired girl would have preferred it to be an emotion other than pain and suffering, but still made herself smile reassuringly at the taller woman, after a second of hesitation reaching out and placing a tender hand on her arm, glad when Haruka didn't pull away from the touch.

"You know you shouldn't do this", she told her in a tender voice, momentarily afraid that she had said the wrong thing now, that Haruka would get angry at her again; instead, the blonde just hung her head and let out a watery breath, briefly making Michiru wonder if she was close to tears again.

With a feeling close to amazement, the aqua haired girl realized that, if Haruka should cry in front of her now, it'd be the first time since the accident that the taller woman would allow herself to show such distress in front of her partner; so far, she always had acted remarkably composed around Michiru, making it clear that she blamed her for what had happened, but never showing her emotions about it, only doing so whenever she was alone and unseen.

"Come on", Michiru pushed those thoughts aside and focused on her partner again, her heart aching at seeing her in such pain, "you should lie down, let me help you… please."

Under any other circumstances, Haruka would have declined the offer, would have told her once again that she had done more than enough already; sitting on the carpet for what felt like an eternity though, in pain and unable to do anything against it, had put her in such a vulnerable state that all she could do was nod, letting it happen that Michiru wrapped one arm around her waist and helped her up without protest, even leaning on the smaller woman heavily as her leg screamed in pain again.

"Come on", Michiru repeated, not letting it show if Haruka's weight almost hanging on her fully was bothering her, "we better get you to the bedroom. I'll never understand why you chose to put your office up on the first floor."

For a moment, Haruka felt like blowing up at her at this comment, then swallowed the angered words and just let out a wry chuckle; Michiru smiled up at her in response, then helped her out of the office and down the stairs, keeping her arm around the blonde's waist the whole time, giving her the support and strength she needed to reach the bedroom safely and without increasing the pain her leg more than it was absolutely unavoidable.


	5. Chapter 5

"Here", Michiru said fifteen minutes later, entering the room with a glass of water, the bottle of painkillers and the hated cane in hands, "maybe you should take two just this once, it's really bad, isn't it?"

"…yes", Haruka admitted from her position on the bed, a pillow propped up against the headboard so she could sit upright, her gaze briefly darkening as it fell on the cane; then, Michiru was handing the painkillers to her, and she momentarily forgot about it, only looking forward to the sweet relief the pills would bring, quickly washing them down with the water the aqua haired girl had provided.

Now that the most urgent need of the blonde had been taken care of, Michiru just stood there awkwardly for a few moments, not sure if she should leave or if Haruka would be alright with her staying; then, she realized that her partner's face still was glistening with sweat and simply told the taller woman she'd be right back, glad when Haruka just nodded and didn't tell her off.

Quickly, before the former racer might change her mind, Michiru hurried back into the kitchen; there, she found a clean salad bowl in one of the cupboards, filling it with cool, but not too cold water, making a quick detour for the bathroom before she returned to the bedroom, where Haruka still sat on the bed, now staring out of the window, absent-mindedly massaging her thigh the way the doctor had told her to. Seeing her do this reminded Michiru of the fact that she had been taught how to do that massage as well, before it had become clear that Haruka didn't want her to touch her anymore; she swallowed heavily at the memory, then pushed it aside, making herself smile calmingly at the blonde as she put the bowl down on the nightstand, then sat down on the edge of the bed and dipped the washcloth into the water, momentarily hesitating again – before she told herself not to be silly and started to run the cloth over the blonde's face, gently washing the sweat off her cheeks and forehead.

Without even fully realizing what she was doing, Haruka closed her eyes, a small sigh escaping her, so soft that Michiru barely heard it; smiling again, the aqua haired girl continued her tender treatment, even going on when she had finished cleaning the blonde's face, her heart soaring to the skies when after a minute, Haruka leaned into the touch with yet another sigh, nearly tempting Michiru to drop the washcloth and caress her directly from skin to skin, an impulse she could fight down at the last second though, telling herself that surely, this would lead to the former racer pushing her away yet again.

"There", she finally made herself say, pulling the cloth back at last, even though she still longed to feel Haruka's skin beneath her fingertips, "all better now?"

Letting out some vaguely agreeing noise, the blonde opened her eyes again, her gaze meeting Michiru's; for a few moments, the two just looked at each other, and during that short span of time, Haruka was as close to apologizing for her behaviour as she never had been before, for the first time fully realizing how much Michiru had put up with from her and how well she still took care of her, despite everything.

Then, a fresh flash of pain ran from her thigh through her leg, and she flinched, the movement only increasing the ache, and the anger and bitterness was back, pushing any thoughts of apologies out of her mind, the aqua haired girl noticing how she clenched her fists as she glared down on her leg, a look which surely should have been directed at her.

"Haruka…" she started, nearly flinching back when the taller woman's gaze came up again, still filled with anger and bitterness at her situation, but still not letting this stop her, even though she had said the next words a thousand times already, to no avail, "I'm sorry…"

She reached out, touching the blonde's hand; this time, she did pull back though, the indifference back in her voice when she replied, each word sending bits and pieces of barbed wire through the violinist's heart.

"Stop apologizing", Haruka told her in a cold voice, the tender moment they had shared just minutes ago apparently forgotten, "it doesn't change anything, and it doesn't help."

"I'm…", Michiru started, then fell silent as she realized how close she had been to apologizing yet again; fighting back tears, she threw the washcloth into the bowl of water, then snatched it up from the nightstand and came to her feet, telling Haruka in a hoarse and trembling voice that she should just call for her, should she need anything.

Not even bothering to answer this with a nod or any other admittance that she had heard her, Haruka stared down on her ruined leg again in reply; Michiru looked at her for another moment, then turned to leave the room, thus not noticing how the blonde's gaze moved up again, taking in how Michiru's shoulders were slumping down and how her hands trembled, enough to make the water in the bowl splash slightly.

"Michiru…" she started before she could stop herself, the violinist freezing at the sound of her partner's voice; then, she slowly turned around to look at the former racer again, but the words Haruka had wanted to say died on her lips, the gratitude and guilty conscience she briefly had felt once again forced aside by much more negative feelings.

"…nothing", she thus mumbled, looking down on her leg yet again; Michiru studied her for another moment, wondering what she had been wanting to say, then shrugged it off and left the room, gently closing the door behind herself, only allowing the tears to fall once she could be sure Haruka wouldn't notice anything of them anymore.

* * *

"Yeah, she tried to walk without the cane and ended up on the carpet, in so much pain that she couldn't even get up anymore", Michiru told Ami on the phone quite some time later, in the privacy of her small art room where no one ever disturbed her, not even Hotaru, "if I hadn't gone to look how she's doing, who knows how long she might have sat up there… Can you perhaps talk to her? She might listen to you…"

"I doubt it", Ami sighed on her end of the line, not really sure why Michiru was asking her – since they were both water Senshi, they always had gotten along quite well, and she'd never had any problems per se with Haruka, either, but never had been as close to the blonde as she was to her partner.

"But if you really want me to, I'll try", she added after another moment, not wanting to upset Michiru with a decline, considering all the violinist had gone through and still was struggling with since the accident, "maybe the fact that now, I'm a med student will help…"

"Who knows", Michiru sighed, thankful that the blue haired girl had agreed, "maybe you can explain to her why this had to be done… The doctor tried, and so did I, but, well…"

"I'll try", Ami reassured her once more, "just tell me when you want to be there and I'll come over."

"Thanks", Michiru gratefully gave back, then asked how Makoto was doing, even though she felt a pang of envy when Ami reassured her that everything was going well between the taller Senshi and her; it hadn't been long since they had found each other, but it was obvious to everyone that they were as happy as Haruka and she had been, in the wonderful weeks and months between the defeat of Galaxia and the accident.

"I'll tell her you said hi", Ami now let her know, clearly figuring out as well that Michiru wouldn't be exactly happy to hear about her relationship bliss with Makoto, "and see you soon."

"Yes, see you soon", Michiru gave back, then said her goodbye and ended the call; she stared at the phone for a few more moments, then put it aside, looking at the blank canvas on her easel afterwards, the white surface not calling to her anymore as it had before it all had gone to Hell – ever since she had finally received the call from the hospital, she hadn't painted a single line, and she wasn't sure if she ever would again.

Sighing to herself, she glanced at the jar in which she kept her paintbrushes and at the various colours right next to it; before the accident, just looking at her palette would have inspired her, but now, all she felt was dull emptiness where her inspiration had been before Haruka had wrecked her car and the hospital had called her with the dire news that…

"_Haruka's in a coma", Michiru told the just recently arrived Inner Senshi, briefly amazed at how calm and controlled she sounded, "she missed a red traffic light and a delivery van crashed into her car… It's a wreck and she's…" _

_Her carefully maintained composure slipped, and she pressed one hand to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her sob, squeezing her eyes shut to hold back her tears; and then Usagi was there, hugging her and rubbing her back and telling her that it would be okay, the rest of the small group forming a cluster around her moments later, making agreeing and calming noises._

"_She'll be fine", Usagi repeated, showing surprising maturity as she held the crying Senshi of the sea close, "you know she'll be fine, she's so strong, she won't let this bring her down…"_

"_Kaioh-san?" a serious voice interrupted her before she could go on reassuring her about how Haruka would be fine, prompting Michiru to pull back from the embrace and look at the man who had spoken with red-rimmed eyes, an elder man in a white coat which identified him as a doctor, his gaze as serious as his voice had been. _

"_Please tell me she'll be alright", Michiru nearly pleaded the moment her gaze met his, all dignity and elegance forgotten with her lover on the brink of death, "please… I…" _

"_I can't tell you for sure yet", the doctor replied, gesturing at one of the chairs in the waiting area, a gesture the aqua haired girl ignored though, "unfortunately, Tenoh-san was injured quite seriously in the accident, we can't make any predictions yet, it would be mere guesswork…"_

"_Can I see her?" Michiru whispered in reply, relieved when the doctor nodded; he asked her to follow him, making it her turn to nod, and together, they walked down the hallway to the room they had put Haruka in after she'd gotten out of the ER, Michiru's heart beating faster with each step as she asked herself if her lover would be okay and if she'd ever be held in those strong arms again._


	6. Chapter 6

Since she didn't want to be there when Ami would talk to Haruka in the following day, Michiru made up a rather flimsy excuse about why she had to go; to her relief, Setsuna played along and agreed to leave for the afternoon as well, taking Hotaru along, thus making sure that Haruka would be home alone when Ami would arrive.

If the blonde was surprised that they all left her alone for an afternoon, she didn't let it show, merely nodding when Hotaru told her they all had to go somewhere; and once she was alone in the big house, she made her way upstairs, giving her best to ignore the thump of the cane on the carpet as she moved into her office and sat down, the movement as always causing pain to shoot through her leg, something the tall woman acknowledged with a low grunt.

Shifting on the chair to get more comfortable, she stretched her leg, glad when at least, the pain dulled to the level she had gotten used to by now; briefly, she considered taking another painkiller, then realized she'd taken the last one only an hour ago and thus had to wait at least another hour for the next one, sighing to herself in dismay as she switched on her laptop and leaned back into the chair while she waited for it to finish booting.

Just when the machine finally was ready to be used and she opened the latest contract she had been working on, the doorbell rang downstairs, prompting her to groan; she considered just ignoring it for a moment, then decided against it, her curiosity getting the better of her as she grabbed the cane and got up from her seat, making her way downstairs with the usual labouring steps, gritting her teeth by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, once again asking herself why she'd been foolish enough to insist on having her office on the second floor.

Once she had made it safely to the ground floor, she paused briefly, flexing the fingers of her right hand with which she always gripped the handle of her cane; then, she made her way to the front door and opened it, unable to hold back a frown when she saw Makoto and Ami standing in front of it, both of them smiling at her, keeping their eyes away from the cane, making her wonder if it was a conscious effort for them or if they really didn't bother to stare, something she could hardly imagine.

"Hi", she greeted them after a moment, suddenly awfully aware of the way she put her weight mostly on her left leg as she stood in front of them and of the cane she was leaning on, "if you're here for Michiru, she went out."

"We're not", Makoto let her know, rather direct again, "we came to see you, it's been a while. May we come in?"

For a moment, Haruka felt like declining, then figured that she might as well let her friends in, not wanting to be rude to them – after all, they weren't to blame for what had happened to her, and it was kind of nice of them to drop by.

"Sure", she thus mumbled, moving aside so they could enter; she closed the door behind them and locked it, then made her way into the living room, once again horribly aware of the thumping noises the cane produced on the ground and of how awful her limping walk had to look.

"Take a seat", she offered, giving her best to sound calm and casual, "would you like something to drink?"

"No thanks", Ami declined, prompting Haruka to sit down as well, the blonde asking herself if they noticed that she wasn't really sitting down, but more let herself fall into the chair after lowering her body as far as her ruined leg allowed it; she leaned the cane against the chair, then gave them a curious look, this being enough to make the blue haired girl speak on.

"We just wanted to drop by and see how you're doing", she stated, having agreed with Michiru that she wouldn't mention anything of the aqua haired girl asking her to come here, "it's been a while, as Mako said."

"Well, you know", Haruka gave back, with a vague gesture, "work's going fine, so I can't complain."

"Yes, we were told you are quite busy", Ami nodded diplomatically, "but we still missed you at the meeting yesterday. Usagi says hi by the way."

"Tell her hi back", the blonde mumbled, holding back the urge to shift on the chair uncomfortably, "and, well, I didn't really have the time, new clients and all, you know how it is."

"Indeed", Ami nodded, "med-school is keeping me quite busy, but I love it. And Mako's café is going quite well, you should visit us there some day."

"Thanks, but I'd rather not", Haruka gave back at once, momentarily surprising them both with her unexpected honesty, "I'm not feeling much like going out a lot anymore since…"

She trailed off and gestured vaguely at her leg, and to her dismay, the gazes of the two younger women softened at once, showing the sympathy she despised so much.

"Don't be stupid", Makoto threw in before Ami could say anything, rolling her eyes, "you should know better than to think that we care. Or do you think we are so shallow, after all we went through together?"

"No", Haruka gave back rather sharply, "but that doesn't mean no one else will stare. Or that it doesn't hurt to walk around, or even sit in the same chair for too long."

"We know you're in pain", Ami regained her ability to speak after briefly being shocked into silence by her partner's blunt words, "and we know this isn't easy for you, but as Makoto said, none of us cares, and we're the ones who matter, are we not? We just want you back in our group, Haruka-chan."

"I'll think about it, alright", Haruka sighed out in reply, realizing they wouldn't give in until she at least made some kind of commitment to their friendship, "but I won't promise anything. I am kinda busy, you know."

"Busy with making Michiru-chan miserable?" Makoto wanted to know, the pleasant tone of her voice forming a sharp contrast to the harsh words she was saying, Ami letting out a gasp next to her while Haruka gave her a hard look, her voice cold when she replied.

"If you're here to tell me how I should be ashamed, you might as well leave", she let the two younger Senshi know, "Setsuna-chan tried that already and it led nowhere."

"I know", Makoto gave back, crossing her arms over her chest, "but if you think you're the only one who's suffering, think again. Michiru's life hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows either since this happened, you know, her ache is just different from yours. As Ami said, yes, we know you're in pain, but as I see it, that fits your personality, too, cause you _are _a pain."

"Makoto!" Ami hissed, horrified, "this is not how I wanted this conversation to go!"

"Look who's still got some guts", Haruka almost snarled, leaning forward in her seat and glaring at the brunette, "but if you think I can't still kick your ass, think again. I'm not above whacking you with the blasted cane, you know."

"And you think I wouldn't hit back?" Makoto snapped, moving forward as well, her fists clenched, "just try it, you—"

"_Stop it, both of you!" _Ami shouted, then immediately turned beet-red as they both fell silent and stared at her – after all, she hardly ever yelled, hadn't done so even during their hardest fights, so hearing her at this volume now effectively shut both of them up within the blink of an eye.

"No one's hitting anyone", Ami went on as soon as she could be sure that both of them had quit with the childish behaviour, "this is not why we came here. Makoto, love, please, let me handle this, you're not helping."

Grumbling, Makoto leaned back into her seat again and glared at Haruka; the blonde glared back for another moment, then her gaze moved to Ami, softening a bit, but still not all too friendly as she replied.

"I don't think there is anything to handle", she told the med student, "because, as I said, the damage has been done, trying to guilt trip me into forgiving Michiru won't happen, so you might as well go."

"Why do you keep thinking it's her fault?" Ami wanted to know in reply, giving her best to sound calm again, glad that slowly, her blush was fading, "it was an accident, you know that, accidents happen."

"It was her fault", Haruka insisted, as she always had ever since the accident had occurred, "she called me, and I wrecked my car because of that call!"

"You took the call", Makoto and Ami answered in perfect unison, surprising the blonde enough to make her raise an eyebrow; the couple exchanged a look as well, then Ami continued after a moment of brief, silent conversation, something Haruka still remembered well from the days Michiru and she had been as happy as Ami and Makoto were now, a pang of loss and envy momentarily coming up in her heart.

"Playing the blame game won't lead anywhere, and it won't make your leg fine again", the blue haired girl pointed out, still calm and reasonable, "all it accomplishes is that both Michiru-chan and you are miserable. Do you really think you need to complicate your life even further by pushing the woman who loves you more than her own life away?"

"And don't try to tell us any crap about how you don't love her anymore", Makoto decided to add her two cents yet again despite Ami's previous request to keep from doing so, "because I saw the look you just got on your face when you watched Ami and me. You know, before all of this happened, all of us always envied Michiru-chan and you for what you shared, we all wanted that, and you had it and now throw it away like that… But you can still salvage it, if you just get over this stupid idea that she's to blame."

"But…" Haruka started again, only to be interrupted by the strict look Ami gave her, her voice in contrast still kind and calm though when she hurriedly spoke on before the blonde could say anything else.

"She had to make the choice which put you into this state, yes", she told the taller woman, "but it was either that, or letting you die, as you surely have been told."

"So stop being an ass", Makoto bluntly told the elder Senshi, ignoring the way Haruka's eyes widened at those words, "and let her back into your life. Do you think it was easy for her? She knew how it would affect your life, and she still had to make a choice, and that's what she did, and the blame you put on her only adds to how much she's blaming herself already."

"Not without reason", Haruka finally got in a word again as well, "if she hadn't told the doctor to… do that…"

"Then you would have died", Ami finished for her, now with a slight edge to her voice as well, "as you've been told a dozen times by now. And Makoto, my dear, please stop throwing in random insults?"

"Kinda hard, seeing how Haruka-chan acts", Makoto grumbled, and suddenly, something seemed to snap within the blonde, prompting her to lean forward yet again, fire in her eyes as she replied, her voice so sharp that it made both Makoto and Ami flinch.

"Maybe I would have died, yeah", she snapped, "but instead of dying, I had my life ruined, which isn't all too great, either, you know?"

"Yeah, I can see how your life is ruined", Makoto was the first one to regain her composure enough to say something, "what, with you being a useless cripple now, with no job and no friends, oh wait! That's not true, you're successful with what you do now, you've got friends who're going out of their way to hang out with you, and you've got a partner who's putting up with so much crap from you and still stays by your side, yeah, I can see how awful that is!"

Next to her, Ami gasped and stared at her in shock while Haruka glared at her, her eyes narrowing; for almost a full minute, no one said a word, Ami quietly contemplating if her life insurance had already been paid off and who might get her spot at med school – and then Haruka let out a wry chuckle, shaking her head, her reaction surprising both Ami and Makoto enough to make them stare at her once again.

"Yeah", the blonde mumbled, sinking back into her seat, "I can see how this self-pity might be annoying for anyone else. But… Hell, I don't even know how to say this… Things were going well, you know? Finally, no more fighting, well, almost no more, what with the random daimons and crap, and finally, I could focus on my dream and on being with Michiru without the danger of anyone of us dying any day, and then this had to happen… It's as if fate put a wonderful meal right in front of me and then spat on it."

"Fate", Makoto repeated, her voice now gentle and her eyes kind, "you said it yourself, Haruka-chan. Fate, not Michiru-chan."

Clearly, Haruka had no idea what to reply to this, and thus just looked at the younger Senshi; and after a few moments of holding her gaze, Makoto got out of her seat and moved over to the blonde and pulled her into a hug, the former racer letting it happen without trying to pull away or to push her back, and suddenly, both Ami and Makoto were sure that somehow, soon things would be alright again.


	7. Chapter 7

The moment Ami and Makoto stepped out the door an hour later, leaving a much calmer, but also much more thoughtful Haruka behind, the smaller Senshi dug out her cell phone and called Michiru, the aqua haired girl barely able to contain her excitement when she took the call.

"Yes", she did so after just the first ring, making Ami wonder if she had been sitting next to her phone, "how did it go?"

"Quite well, I think", Ami let her know, glad that she could tell her these words, "at one point, Haruka-chan and Makoto nearly got to blows, but I managed to stop them in time before any of them got the chance to actually punch the other one, so… And by the time we left, Haruka-chan at least was thinking about what we'd told her. Don't expect her to wait for you with open arms now though, you know best of us all how she can be…"

"Yes, too stubborn for her own good", Michiru sighed, "but thanks for talking to her, I'm really grateful you agreed to do this…"

"We're friends", Ami simply told her in reply, "so if you ever need someone to talk some sense into her again, call me."

"Thanks", Michiru repeated, then let the other water Senshi know that she'd head back home now; Ami wished her good luck as an answer, then told her once more to call her, should anything come up, making the violinist agree before she ended the call and put the phone back into her pocket, then made her way out of the café she had chosen to spend the time until Ami's call in, glad that she had chosen one which wasn't too close to her home, thus avoiding that Haruka would get suspicious about her quick return right after Makoto and Ami left.

For a moment, she considered taking a cab back to her home, then decided against it – walking back there would increase the time between Ami and Makoto's departure and her arrival even farther, and even though she knew that Haruka by now probably had figured out why she had left for the afternoon, there was no need to make it too obvious.

During the walk back home, she pondered how the talk might have gone, and what Makoto had said to Haruka that it almost had caused them to end up in a physical fight; she grimaced at the mere mental image, not wanting to imagine how coming to blows with the Senshi of thunder and lightning would have increased the pain in the blonde's leg – after all, she couldn't even walk without the damaged limb aching more and more, so fighting was out of the question for her.

"Good thing Ami stopped them", she mumbled to herself, not caring if anyone might notice her talking to herself and think that she had lost her mind, "the last thing Haruka needs now is to get into a fight."

She grimaced again at the thought, then shrugged it off, telling herself that it hadn't happened anyway and that thus, it was useless to ponder it any further; instead of keeping her mind busy with those unpleasant images, she thus focused on something much nicer, enjoying the warm day and the lively city around herself as she walked, feeling strangely light-headed as she imaged how Haruka might react to her now after the talk Ami and Makoto had had with her.

Then, she remembered Ami's warning about how she shouldn't expect too much, and held back a sigh – even if Haruka did feel sorry now, and had changed her mind about how all of this was her fault, Michiru knew very well how hard it was for her partner to apologize, figuring that, even if the blonde was willing to do so now, it would take her quite some time until she'd find the courage, the thought of spending more days with the taller woman so cold and indifferent towards her almost making her shiver despite the warm weather.

_You can do this, _she then thought to herself, _Ami said that the talk went well, so it must have an effect sooner or later…_

With that thought settling in her mind, she sped up her steps slightly, and not too long afterwards, the house appeared in the distance; merely seeing the building made her heart beat faster, but she didn't falter, bravely marching on until she had reached her home, taking in a deep breath before she unlocked the door and entered.

Briefly, she felt like calling out for Haruka, then decided against it – after Ami's warning, she didn't want to appear too eager to the blonde, not wanting to risk any improvement which might have been made, thus simply taking off her shoes and jacket instead, then making her way to the living room, not surprised to find it empty.

Standing still, she listened closely, the sound of Haruka's voice reaching her ears moments later, coming from the upstairs office; figuring that the taller woman was on the phone, Michiru quietly made her way upstairs and stopped in front of the closed door, straining her ears to make out what the blonde was saying, suddenly curious whom she was talking to and what the talk was about.

"…if you really think it's necessary", she heard Haruka grumble, the former racer clearly unhappy about something, "fine, I'll do it. … No, I know how to get there. … Yeah… Fine, tomorrow at two then. Tell him lunch's on me."

Now barely able to hold back her curiousness anymore, Michiru knocked the door as soon as she could be sure that lunch had ended, and immediately, her partner's voice called out "Yes?", the aqua haired girl taking in another deep breath before she opened the door and her gaze met Haruka's, the taller woman sitting at her desk, the laptop open and working in front of her, some sort of document on the screen which showed Michiru that she had been busy with yet another contract.

"Hey", the violinist greeted her, giving her best to sound calm and casual, "just thought I'd check in on you, is everything alright?"

"…yeah", Haruka let her know after a few moments of studying her in silence, to the aqua haired girl's delight not sounding as uncaring as she had just the day before, "just fine."

"Glad to hear", Michiru gave back, a bit taken aback by her short answer, "so… I'll be downstairs, in case you need anything…"

This time, Haruka just nodded, but there was something in her eyes Michiru found hard to read; deciding to ignore it, she turned and just was about to step out of the office when the former racer spoke up behind her again, simply saying her name, but that single word still was enough to stop her dead in her tracks.

"…yes?" she asked as she turned back to face the taller woman, her heart hammering up to her throat as she wondered what the blonde might want, the question answered just a few moments later.

"I agreed to meet a possible new client in a café tomorrow", Haruka told her, suddenly finding it hard to look her in the eye, hating herself for having to ask her for a favour after treating her so badly for the last six months, "and, well, I'd drive myself, but… thanks to my little stunt yesterday, I'm not so sure it's a good idea…"

She held back a sigh, dismayed about how the accident even had taken driving away from her – she still _could _drive, if she took a painkiller an hour before she got into the car and another one right after the drive had ended, with the risk of her leg refusing to work whenever she'd try to step down on the gas or brake pedal, something which usually didn't stop her, but a risk she didn't want to take after her fall in the previous day.

"I'll drive you", Michiru told her at once, absurdly happy about Haruka asking that favour from her – she still hadn't sounded all too kind, but it was a beginning, she told herself, and if she did Haruka that favour, it might influence her behaviour towards her even further to the positive side.

"…thanks", Haruka mumbled, her gaze dropping down to the carpet now after having been fixed on some vague point behind Michiru's shoulder for the last minute, "I need to be there at two…"

"It's no problem", Michiru reassured her immediately, fighting down the urge to move closer to her and grasp her hand, well aware of how much Haruka loved driving and how annoyed she had been the few rare times someone else had been behind the steering wheel, "I'll drive you there and back home again, too, if you want me to. I'll even let you choose the music in the car."

Despite her heart still racing in her chest, she managed to wink at the blonde, at the same second asking herself if she had gone too far now; moments later, Haruka relieved her of this fear though by giving her a smile, tiny and wry, but it was a smile, which was much more than she had gotten from her ever since she had woken up from the coma in the hospital.

"Thanks", Haruka repeated, not sure what else she could say; for half a minute, the two looked at each other, the blonde feeling quite awkward, then she cleared her throat and vaguely gestured at the laptop, letting the smaller woman know that she still had some work to do for the meeting in the next day.

"Oh, of course", Michiru nodded, momentarily relieved since she had felt rather awkward as well, "I'll leave you alone so you can get that done… Just call if you need anything, alright? No matter what."

_No matter if it's food or a drink or a kiss and a hug, _she added mentally, not saying those words out loud though; instead, she gave the taller woman a kind smile, then turned and left the room, gently closing the door behind herself, feeling like singing out loud as she walked down the stairs and to the kitchen, convinced that Haruka asking her for this favour was the first step on their path back to happiness.


	8. Chapter 8

In the next day, Setsuna could barely hide her surprise when Michiru and Haruka left the house together, making their way to the garage where the blonde's car was parked most of the time ever since the crash; since the yellow convertible had been wrecked in the accident, she had gotten a new, less obtrusive one, a sleek black Mitsubishi which didn't have the horsepower of her previous car, but was doing fine enough for her forcefully reduced driving needs.

To her credit though, the Senshi of time and space didn't inquire, just watching how the two made their way to the car, Haruka moving a bit less laboriously than usual, a fact which by now told Setsuna that she'd taken a painkiller not too long ago; still she raised an eyebrow as she watched the blonde get into passenger seat while Michiru took the driver's seat, the car backing out of the garage half a minute later.

"You know where the café is?" Haruka asked as Michiru drove down the driveway and onto the street, making the smaller woman nod; not sure what else she could say, the blonde just did the same, then looked out the window, her fingers idly playing with the handle of her cane while Michiru focused on the road, not wanting to end up in an accident, unsure of what it might do to her partner to be in yet another car crash.

"Do you want me to come inside with you?" she asked after just driving in silence for a few minutes, making Haruka look at her, "if not, it's okay, I'll just wait somewhere else."

"Whatever you like", the blonde told her in reply, not exactly saying what Michiru had been wanting to hear, but at least she wasn't telling her that she didn't want her around, "it might be better if you're not at the same table though, this is a professional meeting after all…"

"Of course", Michiru nodded, "I'll wait in the café then, that way, you won't have to wait for me after the meeting is over."

Nodding as well, Haruka looked out the window again; fifteen minutes later, they had arrived at the café, Michiru quickly finding an empty parking lot and bringing the car to a stop there, her heart aching as she watched how the blonde struggled out of the car, something which was made considerably harder by the fact that she couldn't put any weight on her right leg.

Even though it pained her to watch her partner struggle like that, Michiru didn't offer any help, knowing this would only make Haruka push her away again; and finally, she was out of the car, leaning on the cane heavily again as she slammed the door shut, her gaze dark as she started limping towards the café's entrance, making sure to avoid looking at any of the people around, no matter how much they stared at her.

Feeling like yelling at them for being so rude, Michiru followed her partner into the café; there, she observed how a young man jumped up from his seat upon the tall blonde's entrance and waved enthusiastically, then chose a table out of earshot while Haruka slowly made her way to the guy and sat down after shaking hands with him.

Glad that she had brought a book to distract herself, Michiru got said item out of her handbag and started reading; every now and then, she'd glance up to see how the meeting was going, but since Haruka was sitting with her back to her, she couldn't tell anything from gazing at the taller woman, and thanks to her height, she couldn't see the guy's face, either, only his hands every now and then as he clearly was fond of gesturing a lot while talking.

To her surprise, the meeting took quite long, almost an hour; she'd had two cups of tea and read almost half of her book by the time Haruka finally got up from her seat, with surprising force, considering how much strain it put on her ruined leg to stand up from a chair, and moved to the door with a speed that surprised Michiru as much as her force when standing up, the aqua haired girl realizing a second later that something had agitated her partner enough to make her forget her pain.

Now seriously worried, Michiru got up from her chair and hurried after her, concerned that Haruka might just try to walk home, should she take too long to follow her to the car; she was briefly thankful that she had paid each tea when it had been served, and thus didn't need to waste any time on paying now, glad to see that Haruka was standing next to the car when she left the café, even though the way the tall woman was clenching her free hand into a fist was only worrying her even more.

"Haruka?" she carefully addressed her as she moved closer to her, stopping next to her, "are you…"

She'd been planning to ask Haruka if she was alright, but one look at the blonde's face was enough to answer that question and to make the words die on her lips, her concern reaching new heights as she saw the fire in her partner's eyes and the way she was gritting her teeth in anger, so hard that her jaw muscles were moving visibly beneath the skin.

"Haruka", she repeated, in a kind and hopefully calming voice, all doubts about moving too fast forgotten as she wrapped her fingers around the former racer's still tightly clenched fist, "what happened?"

"Take me home", the blonde brought out in a trembling voice in reply, shocking Michiru – she wasn't sure if the tremble was caused by anger or by held-back tears, but in either case, it was the second time within just two days that Haruka displayed such strong emotions in front of her, quite the drastic change after how cold she had been to her during the last six months.

"…sure", she quickly regained her composure, "let's go home then, come on…" Hurriedly, she dug out the car keys and pushed the button on them which unlocked the vehicle; she gave Haruka another worried look, then hurried to the driver side and got into the car, the taller woman doing the same on her side, with some difficulties, not saying a word during the drive home, just staring out of the window in silence, the way she was clenching her fists in her lap being the only sign she let show of her upset state.

* * *

When they arrived at their house, it was obvious to Michiru that all Haruka wanted to do was storm off and perhaps hide away in her office; thanks to her ruined leg, storming off was pretty much impossible, the dramatic effect it might have had destroyed by how long it took her to get out of the car.

"Haruka", Michiru called out as she started limping towards the door leading from the garage into the house, still with the stunning speed she had displayed when she had left the café, "wait! What happened?"

For a moment, she was sure that the blonde would simply ignore her and move on; to her relief though, Haruka remained where she was, still with her back to her, her free hand gripping the door handle, but not turning it, giving the aqua haired girl a chance to move up to her and give her a concerned look.

"Please", she then said, finally daring to reach out and place one hand on the taller woman's arm, "tell me what happened… Let me help you…"

"He didn't mean it, I know he didn't", Haruka pressed out in reply, turning slightly so she could look at Michiru, the smaller woman's heart clenching up when she saw the pain in her partner's eyes, "but… the comments he made…"

"…let's go inside", Michiru suggested after a moment, "we shouldn't talk about this here, and you should sit down, standing too long's not good for your leg…"

Briefly, Haruka felt like snapping at her, telling her that she knew very well what was good for her leg and what wasn't; then, she bit the anger down, telling herself that lashing out at the violinist now would be an unfair thing to do, especially considering how eager Michiru was to help her, and thus just nodded, pulling the door open moments later and moving into the house.

Together, they made their way into the living room, with Michiru noticing that by now, Haruka was walking with more obvious troubles than usual, something which surely could be blamed on the speed with which she had left the café and had moved from the car to the door; not making a comment about it though, she merely followed the blonde, waiting until she had chosen a chair before she took a seat as well, another concerned look aimed at her partner moments later.

"What did he say?" she then wanted to know, fighting the urge to reach out and grab Haruka's hand – she had allowed the physical contact in the garage, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't push her away again, should she try to get too close too fast.

"I know he didn't mean to be nasty", Haruka mumbled in reply, her fingers idly playing with the handle of her cane as she stared down on it, "but… he kept mentioning how sorry he felt for me, how much it must suck to have that happen to one, how honoured he feels that he's taking my… my place on the team… He's my replacement and they sent him to me for the contract! It's as if they wanted to spit in my face!"

"I'm sure that's not what they had in mind", Michiru hurriedly reassured her, before she could get the idea to call her former team mates and yell at them, "perhaps they wanted to help you by getting you another client… or him, by sending him to someone who knows the team and how to handle them."

"If only he had stopped going on and on about the accident and my leg", Haruka gave back after a moment, her free hand coming up to rub at her eyes, making the violinist wonder if she was close to crying, "he's a nice kid, overly eager to drive, and he was so happy to get on the team… Just like I was before all of… all of this shit!"

With the last word, she slammed her fist down on her thigh so quickly that Michiru couldn't even try to stop her; and moments later, she let out a pained groan, squeezing her eyes shut, and even though she told herself minutes ago that she shouldn't get too physical with Haruka too fast, the aqua haired girl found herself moving before she even realized what she wanted to do, kneeling down in front of the sitting former racer and grasping her fist with both hands, keeping her from slamming it down on her leg yet again.

"Don't do that", she softly spoke, relieved when Haruka just looked at her and didn't try to pull her hand out of her grasp, "don't make your pain even worse…"

"…I can't do this Michiru", Haruka told her in a watery, trembling voice in reply, "I can't work for him, visit him at the track and see them all again… I know how they'd look at me, with sympathy and pity, I can't do this…"

"You don't have to", the aqua haired girl reassured her after a moment of silence, slightly shocked by this emotional outburst – after all, so far, Haruka never had shown any emotions about what had happened to her, always acting cold and indifferent, and this sudden change took the violinist quite a bit aback.

"You can decline working with him", she went on, moving even closer and slowly taking the taller woman into her arms, glad when Haruka let her and didn't move back, "and even if you work with him, you won't have to go to the track, you can do it all from here, I'll do anything to help you with that… I'm so sorry you have to go through this…"

The only response she got was that a shudder ran through the blonde's body, along with the watery breath Haruka took in – before she suddenly clung to the violinist, another shiver running through her while a heavy sob racked her body, and all Michiru could do was hold her and rub her back soothingly, giving her best to give her some comfort and to take some of her pain away.


	9. Chapter 9

It took Haruka quite some time to calm down, and by the time she finally did so, the side of Michiru's neck and her shoulder were wet with tears; to her relief though, the blonde still didn't pull back from the hug even after she had stopped crying, still breathing heavily as the violinist kept holding her, rubbing her back with slow, circular motions, not sure if there was anything she could say to make her feel better.

"Dammit", Haruka mumbled to herself, interrupting Michiru's ponderings, "it's been a while since I had such a freakout…"

This made the aqua haired girl wonder when exactly that last freakout had been, since Haruka never had cried in front of her before, but she decided it was wiser not to ask, instead pulling back from the hug enough so she could look the blonde in the eyes, smiling soothingly at her, not surprised, but still hurt when Haruka didn't smile back.

"It's better to let such emotions out than to keep them bottled up inside", she still told the blonde, giving her best to sound calming, "and I'm glad I could help you…"

For a few more moments, Haruka kept holding her gaze with the vulnerability and hurt she had displayed ever since they had left from the café – and then, Michiru could practically see how her mask dropped back into place, all emotion vanishing from her eyes, an unarticulated grunt coming from her as she pulled back from the hug, grabbed her cane and got up from her chair, forcing Michiru to move back so she wouldn't end up pushed to the floor.

"I have some work to do", she let the aqua haired girl know, "I'll be upstairs."

"…sure", Michiru agreed after a moment of surprised hurt, not even bothering to try and hide the emotion, "just call for me if you need anything…"

At least, this time, Haruka acknowledged her words with nodding, then turned and limped out of the living room, the sound of her cane thumping up the stairs following a minute later; sighing heavily, Michiru got up from the floor and dusted off her skirt absent-mindedly as she looked at the doorway the blonde just had vanished through, asking herself how long it would still take until the former racer really would forgive her and let her back into her heart.

"Michiru-mama?" Hotaru's voice tore her out of her thoughts quite harshly, making her flinch slightly before she looked down on the small girl, "what happened to Haruka-papa? I wanted to come join you when I saw you enter here, but then I saw she's crying…"

"She had a meeting with a client", Michiru told her adopted daughter in reply, making herself smile at her, "and he said some… rather thoughtless things about her accident and her leg."

"What a silly man", Hotaru mumbled, shaking her head, "he should know that this is a touchy subject, I know and I'm just twelve! Do you think I should go see her?"

"Not right now", Michiru shook her head after considering this for a moment, "she's still upset, and she might end up snapping at you without wanting to. Better wait an hour or two."

"Aw", the girl let out in reply, clearly not all too happy, but accepting her adoptive mother's words, "fine then… I don't want Haruka-papa to snap at me, not even by accident."

"Understandable", Michiru mumbled, having been snapped at by Haruka quite a few times herself since the accident; blushing, Hotaru realized her words might not have been the wisest, giving the Senshi of the sea an apologetic look and making her smile down on her once again.

"Hey", she then said, eager to change the topic now, "why don't we go to the kitchen and see if we can make a nice dinner for the rest of the family?"

"Alright", Hotaru agreed at once, smiling widely; smiling back at her, Michiru grasped her hand, and together, they made their way into the kitchen, both of them soon busy with preparing dinner, even though Michiru's thoughts never once left Haruka as she pondered how the blonde might be doing up in her office right now.

* * *

As always since the accident, Haruka didn't come downstairs to eat with the rest of her family; and as always, Michiru made sure that she ate something anyway by bringing her plate upstairs to her office, finding her partner sitting in front of the laptop, a concentrated frown on her face as she typed away, working on yet another contract.

"Dinner", Michiru explained after knocking and entering once Haruka had called out the usual "Yes?"; to her dismay, the taller woman only let out a vaguely agreeing grunt in reply, once more causing the aqua haired girl's heart to clench up, something she didn't let show though as she put the plate down and told Haruka that she'd come to get it later on.

She only get yet another agreeing noise in reply, holding back a sigh as she turned and left the room; outside, she took a moment to regain her composure, asking herself why Haruka was treating her like this again now – she hadn't expected everything to be sunshine and rainbows after the talk the blonde had had with Ami and Makoto, but at least, Haruka had let her comfort her after the encounter with the overly excited new racer, and had been slightly more civil to her before that ordeal, something which apparently had gone the drain again though.

Shaking her head to herself as she asked herself how much longer she had to endure this, and if, maybe, it wouldn't be better to forget about Haruka ever letting her back into her heart, she ran a shaky hand through her hair, then finally moved back downstairs, letting both Setsuna and Hotaru know that she was tired and would retreat to her bedroom.

With concern in her garnet eyes, Setsuna nodded, but didn't say anything; Michiru gave her a brief, but grateful smile, then vanished into the bedroom, the Senshi of time and space letting out a small sigh the moment she could be sure that the younger woman was out of earshot.

"I thought Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama are getting closer again after Haruka-papa felt bad today", Hotaru commented, causing Setsuna to look at her in surprise – since she had been busy in her own room, she had noticed nothing of the blonde's breakdown, only hearing that anything had happened now from the girl.

"What do you mean?" she thus asked, rolling her eyes when Hotaru raised an eyebrow at her, as if she just had asked the dumbest question in the whole wide world; for a moment, the girl looked as if she wanted to follow the raised eyebrow with a snarky reply, a trait she surely had learned from Haruka, then seemed to decide otherwise, since she simply told Setsuna what had happened, the elder woman's surprise more than obvious.

"Who would have thought", she then mumbled, more to herself than to Hotaru, "Haruka still does have feelings after all."

"Of course", Hotaru replied at once, sounding indignant and making the elder woman look at her again, "what makes you think she doesn't? She's just hiding them well."

"Apparently, Hime-chan knows me better than you do", a low and husky voice came from the doorway before Setsuna could reply anything, making them both jump – before they glanced over at the blonde, both of them surprised to see her joining them, since she hadn't done this once ever since the accident.

"Perhaps", Setsuna carefully replied after a moment of surprised silence; Haruka gave her a tired smile, then her gaze focused on Hotaru, the kind tone of her voice only increasing Setsuna's surprise when she asked the child to leave her Setsuna-mama and her alone for a few minutes.

"Of course", Hotaru agreed at once, coming to her feet and leaving the room; she closed the door behind herself, giving Haruka and Setsuna some privacy, uncomfortable silence filling the air between the two for half a minute – before it was broken by the thumps Haruka's cane caused on the carpet as she moved to the couch, once more regretting her fast walk from earlier that day, relieved when she could sit down again, ending up next to the still rather startled looking Setsuna.

"Have a minute?" she asked as soon as she had made herself comfortable, "I think I… need some advice."

"I should mark this day in my calendar", Setsuna replied with the first thing which came to her mind, "Haruka Tenoh asking advice from me. When was the last time this happened?"

"Some time before I crashed my car and ruined my leg", Haruka snarkily shot back at once, then briefly squeezed her eyes shut and took in a deep breath, sounding a bit calmer when she apologized.

"And yes", she mumbled as soon as Setsuna had accepted her apology with a slight nod, "I'm asking you for advice."

"Spit it out", Setsuna told her in reply, not all too kind, but she still found herself unable to be any nicer, having witnessed too often how Haruka acted uncaring and mean towards Michiru and not agreeing with this kind of behaviour; moments later though, she found herself surprised once more as the blonde replied, suddenly finding it hard to look the elder woman in the eyes as she spoke.

"It's about Michiru", she mumbled, fiddling with the handle of her cane, "I had a visit from Ami-chan and Makoto-chan the other day and, well, they made some very good points, and got me thinking…"

She sighed heavily, then finally looked up at Setsuna again, the Senshi of time once more taken aback when she saw the sadness in the taller woman's gaze, the same emotion in her voice when she went on after a few more moments of silence.

"I know I treated Michiru horribly", she admitted in a voice even hoarser than usual, "and that I can count myself lucky she's still willing to talk to me, let alone willing to be with me. But 'I'm sorry' won't do to make what I did to her up to her, but I want to make things right again, so… I don't know what to do."

"Ask her out", Setsuna replied with the first thing which came to her mind, glad that she had been able to come up with anything at all – after all, this had been the last thing she'd been expecting to hear when Haruka had told her she needed advice, leaving her quite flabbergasted.

"Ask her out?" Haruka repeated, raising an eyebrow, "that's the best idea you can come up with?"

"I'm sure it would work", Setsuna defended her idea, "remember what Michiru-chan told you shortly after Galaxia was defeated, about how happy she was that you just can go out now like a normal couple, without needing to worry about any attacks. She always loved to go out with you, no matter where."

"It might work", Haruka admitted after pondering this for a minute, sighing to herself, "and it's better than anything I could come up with so far. Roses make her sneeze and she has more than enough jewellery."

"So you did put some thought into this", Setsuna remarked with a hint of approval in her voice, "I'm glad to hear, I was getting tired of both of you being miserable all the time. But just let me tell you one thing."

Sensing that now, something unpleasant would come, Haruka gave her a look which encouraged her to go on; and after a moment, Setsuna did so, her words making the blonde swallow heavily.

"Don't play with her", the elder woman strictly said, "if you really want to patch things with her up again, fine, go for it, you have my blessing, and Hotaru-chan will be thrilled, too. But if you're not fully sure that you are over this… situation with your leg, and are still blaming her just a tiny bit, don't do anything. She doesn't deserve that."

"…I know", Haruka mumbled after just holding her gaze for a few seconds, "she didn't deserve any of this. None of us did."

Not sure what she could reply to this, Setsuna just nodded; Haruka gave her a wry smile, then her grip on the cane tightened as she forced herself up from her seat, the elder woman noticing how she grit her teeth at the movement, momentarily feeling pity for her and the constant pain she had to deal with.

"It'll be alright", she thus said, smiling reassuringly at the blonde, "you know she won't say no. She'll be overjoyed."

"I hope so", Haruka sighed, "after all I put her through… Thanks."

"You're welcome", Setsuna smiled, and after a moment, the blonde smiled back before she turned and limped out of the room, making her way back upstairs and leaving Setsuna behind, the elder woman asking herself if Haruka really would ask Michiru out and if they finally would manage to get their relationship back on track again.


	10. Chapter 10

In the next morning, Michiru was the first one to get up, and thus started preparing breakfast while she waited for the rest of her family to get out of bed; she already had been fast asleep when Haruka had gone to bed the night before, and when she had gotten up, the blonde still had been slumbering soundly, the aqua haired girl not having the heart to wake her, figuring that she could need the rest after the previous day's excitement – not to mention the fact that surely, her behaviour towards her partner would get even worse again, should she do the slightest thing Haruka might not like.

Sighing to herself as she filled the electric kettle with water, Michiru pondered how things actually had been easier when Haruka still had been completely indifferent to her – after all, she hadn't been forced to worry about doing or saying the wrong thing back then, something she was concerned about now constantly.

The low thumping of the cane on the hallway's hardwood floor distracted her from those ponderings, and she automatically glanced over at the doorway, slightly surprised to see that Haruka was up already; moments later though, her eyes showed her that her ears hadn't heard wrong as the blonde entered, favouring her right leg and leaning on the cane even heavier than usual, reminding Michiru of the fact that in the morning, after a night of sleep, her partner always had more trouble walking than during the day.

"Good morning", she greeted, smiling at the blonde, her heart jumping her chest when Haruka smiled back, tired and a bit lopsided, but a more honest smile than any of those she had given her during the last six months; limping over to the table, the taller woman slowly sat down before she returned the greeting, her voice so surprisingly kind that it nearly startled Michiru into flinching.

Giving her best to hide about how much this surprised her, the aqua haired girl turned back to the electric kettle as the sound of boiling water could be heard from within it; she carefully poured the transparent liquid into the cups she had readied, only to nearly spill some of it when Haruka spoke up behind her. "Michiru…?"

"Yes?" she asked as an answer, turning to look at the blonde, her surprise reaching new heights when she realized that Haruka was blushing, not much, but just enough to let it be noticeable; and now, the blonde also cleared her throat, making it obvious that whatever she had to say wasn't easy for her, the aqua haired girl's heart suddenly racing in her chest as she waited for her partner to speak on.

"Um, well", Haruka finally did so, all at once sounding so insecure that Michiru had to fight down the urge to raise an eyebrow, not wanting to interrupt her partner with the simple gesture, "I was wondering if… if you're free tonight…"

"Free?" Michiru echoed, her mind reeling as she tried to figure out what Haruka was aiming at, staring at the blonde in confusion, "free to do what?"

"Um", the taller woman mumbled in reply, fidgeting with her cane nervously as she looked down on her feet, suddenly not so sure anymore if this had been a good idea after all, already making plans about how to best punish Setsuna for this, "well, if you're not doing anything already, I thought that maybe, we could go out…"

_Go out?! _Michiru's mind nearly screamed as she just kept staring, _what is she talking about? Has she lost her mind over night? Yesterday, she wouldn't even talk properly to me and now she wants to go out?_

"Go out where?" she asked, not the smartest thing to ask, she knew, but it was the only thing which came to her mind; swallowing, Haruka looked up at her again, mistaking the shocked expression on her face for something else entirely, nearly pulling her head between her shoulders as she told herself that this had been a mistake, that she had been foolish to think that Michiru would forgive her the behaviour she had displayed during the last six months so quickly.

"I don't know", she muttered, her gaze dropping again, "whatever you want. Dinner maybe, or, dinner and a movie, I don't know…"

Stunned into silence, all Michiru could do was stare, her mind still reeling from the former racer's words; and once again, Haruka read her silence the wrong way, something which never would have happened before the whole mess with the accident and her leg, clearing her throat noisily as she came to her feet again, the defeated sound of her voice finally tearing Michiru out of her stupor.

"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea", she brought out in a low voice, gripping her cane so tightly that her knuckles whitened, "just forget I ever—"

"I'd love to", Michiru interrupted her, prompting her to stop moving and to turn so she could look at the smaller woman, now her turn to be surprised, "and I don't mind where we are going or what we will do. I'd just love to go out with you, Haruka."

"Oh", the blonde gave back, not all too smart, "um, okay then… So… Let's leave at seven?"

For a moment, Michiru was reminded of how the former racer had behaved when she had asked her out for the very first time, not all too long after she had accepted her duty as a Sailor Senshi and had started fighting by her side; she had been just as awkward and insecure back then, stumbling over her own words as she tried to find the courage to ask her fighting partner out to dinner, and the memory made her smile while she nodded, her heart soaring to the skies with happiness.

"Okay, good", Haruka said with a slight smile of her own, "looking forward to it…"

"Me too", Michiru reassured her, fighting down the urge to rush over to her and hug her – even if she just had been asked out on a date by the woman she loved so much and wanted back in her life so much, she knew that rushing things might only lead to the situation between them worsening again, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Still feeling a bit awkward, Haruka gave her a wry smile, then moved back to the table and sat down; taking this as a signal that she had said everything she'd wanted to say, Michiru smiled at her for another moment, then focused on preparing breakfast again, thus turning her back on the blonde, feeling her eyes on her all the time though, smiling to herself happily as she already imagined how pleasant and wonderful their date in the evening would be.

* * *

"I really need to thank you", Michiru told Ami over the phone an hour later, in the solitude of her small art room, smiling to herself when the blue-haired girl let out a vaguely questioning noise in reply, giving her best to not sound too gleeful as she explained the reason for her gratitude.

"Haruka asked me out in the morning, for later today", she let the other water Senshi know, unable to keep a smile which went from ear to ear off of her face, "I don't know where we'll go or what we'll do, but it was so cute, just like when she asked me out the first time after she became Sailor Uranus…"

"Wow", Ami gave back, impressed, "I never would have thought our talk would have such an effect on her, especially not after some of the verbal lapses Makoto had."

"Hey!" Michiru heard the Senshi in question call out in the background, the indignation in the taller woman's voice making her giggle; Ami took a moment to reassure her girlfriend that it hadn't been meant in any bad way, then returned to the conversation with Michiru, the genuine happiness in her voice making the aqua haired girl smile again.

"Well, congratulations then", the med student said, and Michiru could hear the smile on her face, "let's hope things will go well, then."

"Yes", the violinist agreed at once, "but I'm pretty sure they will, I think Haruka was sincere when she asked me out, and that she wants to patch things up again…"

"I'll cross my fingers for you", Ami let her know, "and so will Makoto. We both think that it's a shame how things are between the two of you now, you always had what we wanted back then when we were still fighting…"

"I know", Michiru replied, a bit wistfully as she thought of those times – each fight had come with the risk of any of them getting hurt or even killed, but still, they had been so happy even then, cherishing each moment they could spend in peace and enjoying the few rare times during which they could act just as any other normal couple would.

"And I want that back", she added after another moment, "even if it was my fault that—"

"It wasn't", Am interrupted her, a hint of harshness in her voice which made the aqua haired girl raise an eyebrow, even though Ami couldn't see that, "you need to stop blaming yourself for this. Apparently, Haruka has managed to do so, so why can't you?"

"Because it was me who caused it all", Michiru insisted, "at first when I called her while she was driving and then when…"

"You did what you had to do", the other water Senshi told her, her voice kinder now, but still insisting, "just remember what the doctor said."

Holding back a sigh, Michiru did just that, thinking back to the moment Haruka's doctor had forced her to make one of the hardest decisions of her life, a slight frown creasing her brow as she still remembered everything so well, from the sound of the elder man's voice to the beeping of the machines surrounding her comatose lover and the smells which had dominated in the hospital.

"_There are some unforeseen… complications", the elder man let her know, the name tag on his white lab coat identifying him as Dr Kateino, "decisions need to be made, Kaioh-san, and since your partner is not able to make them…"_

"_What's wrong?" Michiru wanted to know, feeling how Usagi grasped her hand and held it, but not looking at her – ever since Haruka had ended up in the hospital, she never had been alone with her, one of the other Senshi always with her, giving the quiet support and strength she needed to handle the situation her lover was in._

"_Unfortunately", the doctor started his explanation in reply, "as you know, shortly after Tenoh-san's admittance to this hospital, an infarction occurred in the thigh artery of her right leg."_

"_Yes", Michiru nodded, shuddering at the mere memory of how hectically the doctors and nurses had acted when this had been discovered, "but you managed to… fix that, right?"_

"_We did", Kateino confirmed, "but unfortunately, as we found during the last examination of your spouse, it was discovered and removed too late to prevent any follow up damage."_

"_What's wrong, then?" Michiru demanded to know, getting tired of how this man was beating around the bush, "tell me! What do you need me to decide?"_

"_The infarction stopped the blood flow to the thigh muscle", the doctor explained in reply, to the violinist's exasperation still not getting to the point, "which unfortunately resulted in muscle death. You surely understand that we have to act fast, before the deadened muscle might end up poisoning your partner, for lack of a better term."_

"_What do you usually do if this happens?" Usagi was the one to answer now since Michiru had been shocked into silence, giving the hand of the elder woman a reassuring squeeze, holding the doctor's gaze when it moved to her._

"_Muscle death is very rare", Kateino told her, "as far as I know, it has never been treated in this hospital before. Most of the cases we looked up on this issue used amputation as treatment."_

"_What?!" Michiru nearly snapped, torn out of her shock by those words, "no! There's no way I'll let you cut off her leg! Isn't there any other way…?"_

"_A new procedure", Kateino let her know, his calm demeanour infuriating the violinist – here this man stood, telling her that maybe, he'd need to cut off her partner's leg, and spoke about it as if Haruka had merely stubbed her toe and just needed a band-aid to be fine again._

"_It has only been used once before, to my knowledge", the elder man went on, "in America, and that was last year, so there are no studies about long-time effects yet. It involves merely removing the dead tissue instead of the entire limb. Please keep in mind that this is a highly delicate procedure and will result in loss of use of the leg, and also might cause chronic pain for your partner."_

"_So we if do nothing, she'll die", Michiru summed up in reply, swallowing heavily, "and all you can do is either cut off her leg or remove the dead muscle… But she'd keep her leg then?"_

"_Most likely, unless something goes wrong during the procedure", the doctor nodded, finally showing some emotion by giving her a sympathetic look as he went on, "and I know that this is a hard decision to make, Kaioh-san, but we need one quickly, before too much damage can be done by the dead muscle."_

"_Remove it", Michiru told him tonelessly after a minute of thinking about this, "don't… don't amputate, I'll sign anything you want me to, just make sure she can keep her leg…"_

"_We'll do our best", Kateino reassured her, "I'll send a nurse with the paper work over soon. Thank you for deciding so quickly, Kaioh-san."_

_All the aqua haired girl could do was nod in reply, and Usagi squeezed her hand once more while the doctor left the room, the door closing behind him, silence filling the room again as the two Senshi studied the comatose form of Haruka, Michiru trying her hardest to convince herself that she had done the right thing now, not having an idea yet about how this decision would end up affecting her life and Haruka's._


	11. Chapter 11

By six o'clock in the evening, Michiru was getting quite nervous, despite how often she told herself that it was silly to feel this way, that she knew the person she'd go out with as well as she knew herself and that surely, everything was going fine; unbeknownst to her though, Haruka had similar feelings upstairs in her office, fidgeting in her chair much more than usual as she found herself unable to focus on her work, knowing that she would have paced up and down in the room, had she been able to do so without the cane.

Both of them willed time to pass faster as they waited for seven o'clock to arrive; at half past six, Michiru started to get ready, combing through her hair once more and arranging it so that it fell down on her shoulders and back with the waves Haruka always had liked so much, and just as she exited the bathroom, Haruka entered, giving her an awfully cute, shy smirk as she vaguely gestured at her hair with her free hand.

Acknowledging the blonde's intentions with a nod, Michiru moved past her, making sure she wouldn't accidentally bump the cane out from underneath her, and into the bedroom; there, she stood in front of her wardrobe for a few minutes, trying to decide what to wear and realizing that Haruka hadn't told her where they'd go, thus making it even harder for her to decide on the evening's clothing.

Finally, she settled on an ankle-length light blue skirt with a button up blouse of the same colour, figuring that she could wear this in a more classy location as well as in one where casual clothing fit better; she peered out the window for a moment, frowning at the dark clouds which were filling the sky, then added a dark blue jacket to her choice, giving herself a critical look in the mirror afterwards, nodding in satisfaction a few seconds later.

Just as she exited the bedroom again to go and have a drink of the water in the hope that this would calm her nerves a bit, Haruka emerged from the bathroom again, her usually tousled and unruly hair a bit better under control now; with slight satisfaction, Michiru noticed the hint of approval in the taller woman's eyes as they passed each other in the hallway, then Haruka vanished into the bedroom while the aqua haired girl made her way to the kitchen, nearly dropping the glass of water there, her hands by now trembling with excitement.

Still she made herself sit down, even picked up the newspaper and pretended to read it while she waited for the time to pass; just as she turned the page, Hotaru entered the kitchen and smiled at her with excitement, making it obvious that she knew what her adoptive parents would do in fifteen minutes, Michiru smiling back happily at once, for the first time since the accident giving her daughter a bright and genuine smile which warmed up the girl's heart, prompting her to bounce her way back out after she had gotten the glass of juice she had come to the room for.

"Don't spill anything Hime-chan!" Michiru called after her, hearing Haruka tell their daughter a similar thing as they met in the hallway; and then, the blonde came limping into the kitchen, and momentarily, Michiru found it hard to breathe, just capable of staring, not even caring if Haruka noticed and thought of it as weird or not.

Clearly having orientated herself on what she had seen Michiru wear, Haruka had chosen a dark blue suit which complimented the colour of Michiru's clothing, a white button-up shirt beneath; and despite her limp and the cane, she looked stunningly elegant, reminding Michiru of the times before the accident, when they had been capable of turning heads by simply walking into a room together, always dressed to impress, fitting their status and fame back then.

Momentarily, Michiru asked herself if they'd still turn heads now, and if they would because of how they looked together or if her partner's limp and cane would be the reason; then, she pushed those thoughts aside as Haruka asked her if she was ready to go and nodded, coming to her feet, smiling up at the taller woman as they walked to the garage together.

"Do you want me to drive?" Michiru asked, not surprised when Haruka immediately shook her head, the former racer's smile a bit wry as she replied. "No, I can handle it, I took a painkiller an hour ago, I'll be fine."

Not wanting to give their date a bad start by arguing, Michiru just nodded again, then smiled slightly once more as the blonde held the door on the passenger side open for her, just like she always had done before the accident; she thanked the taller woman, then got into the car, watching afterwards how Haruka made her way around it and climbed in herself, a brief flash of hurt showing on her face when she manoeuvred her right leg so that she could get into the seat.

Deciding that it'd be smarter not to make a comment about this, Michiru put on her seatbelt and made herself comfortable while the blonde started the engine; she carefully backed out of the garage and onto the driveway, glancing left and right before she drove out on the street, silence filling the vehicle as she steered it through the rather busy streets, even though, for the first time in six months, it wasn't the uncomfortable silence none of them had managed to get used to, even though it had been enfolding them constantly.

"So where are we going?" Michiru finally broke the silence anyway, and since they just had stopped at a red traffic light, Haruka glanced at her, a hint of mischief in her eyes and voice when she replied. "Wait and see. It's a surprise. And yes, you can wear what you're wearing there."

Even though she wasn't really satisfied with that answer, Michiru smiled and nodded, overjoyed – after all, she just had glimpsed a hint of the old Haruka, of how her partner had been before the crash, this small glimpse convincing her even further that their date would turn out just the way she wanted it to.

* * *

To Michiru's delight, Haruka clearly had put some thought into the choice she had made for their date – by the time she finally parked the car, the aqua haired girl had realized that they were close to the restaurant they had gone to shortly after Galaxia had been defeated, their first real date since that final fight, and the first one they had enjoyed as a normal couple, without the ever-present risk of being called to yet another fight.

"I thought this would be a nice choice", Haruka told her after she had killed the engine, looking over at her partner as if she was waiting for her approval, "and it's been a while since we went here, even before… before the crash."

"It's perfect", Michiru reassured her with a smile, then asked if Haruka had reserved a table – after all, the restaurant was quite popular, and it was a game of risk to try and get a seat without a reservation, relief filling her when the taller woman nodded at once. Smiling at her once again, she pushed the passenger side door open and got out of the car, Haruka doing the same; it took her a bit longer than the aqua haired girl, due to her ruined leg, but finally, they stood on the sidewalk side by side, Haruka surprising her partner again moments later by offering her arm with another slightly wry smile.

Delighted, Michiru accepted the gesture by hooking her hand into the crook of the taller woman's arm; together, they made their way to the restaurant's entrance, the aqua haired girl giving the former racer's arm a reassuring squeeze as they entered and immediately, several people who had the less liked tables close to the door started to stare, both of them involuntarily wondering if their looks were causing this or if the cane and the limp were the reason. Then, Michiru felt Haruka straighten up next to her, a hint of determination on her face as she chose to ignore the looks of the other guests, not even trying to hide the limp or to muffle the sounds her cane produced on the finely carpeted floor as she moved to the man behind the counter nearby, responsible for reservations and for seating the guests.

"Table for two", Haruka told the man, who at least was professional enough to refrain from staring, as well, "reserved on the name of Haruka Tenoh."

"Yes, yes", the man nodded after briefly consulting his book, "we are honoured to receive you as guests here tonight, Tenoh-san. Follow me please." He bowed a bit, then moved away from his counter and led the couple through the restaurant, to one of the booths at the far back, Michiru smiling again as she realized that this was the exact same booth they had set in on their first date here; she briefly wondered if Haruka had paid extra money to get this seat, or if it was a mere coincidence and the blonde hadn't thought about that, then the waiter already had arrived there with them and asked them if he might take their jackets.

Nodding, Michiru handed him hers while Haruka let him know that she'd keep hers on; he nodded and smiled politely, then handed them the menus before he retreated to hang up Michiru's jacket, the two women opening the menus in the meantime and studying them, stealing glances at the other one whenever they thought their opposite wasn't looking.

"You know", the violinist spoke up once she had chosen her meal and put down the menu, "this is the very same booth we sat in when we came here for the first time…"

"I know", Haruka gave back, making her choice as well and placing the menu on the table in front of her, "I specifically asked for it… I wanted—"

The waiter returning to their table interrupted her, and she fell quiet, her fingers nervously playing with the table cloth while the man bowed a bit again, then asked if they were ready to order; nodding, Michiru told him her choice, namely a rather exotic chicken dish, while Haruka chose a more traditional meal with beef, both of them ordering tea for a drink, with the blonde not permitted to have any alcohol thanks to the painkillers she constantly had to take and Michiru not wanting to drink alone.

"Michiru", Haruka spoke up again the moment the waiter was out of earshot, "there's something I really need to tell you…"

Nodding, Michiru held her gaze, fighting down the urge to reach over the table and grasp her hand; taking in a deep breath, Haruka briefly glanced down on her legs, then up at her partner again, her voice soft, but sincere when she finally continued.

"I know that simply saying 'I'm sorry' won't be enough for what I put you through", she told the violinist, "but I am. I'm sorry for blaming this on you, Michiru, and for treating you like this. That's why I reserved this certain booth for tonight, I wanted to bring back the happy times we shared back then… I want us to be happy again."

"Haruka", Michiru breathed, suddenly closed to tears, deeply touched by the blonde's words; giving her a wry smile, Haruka reached over the table and grasped her hand, her voice even softer when she went on.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I don't know if I'll ever be able to accept what happened to me, but… I know now it wasn't your fault", she explained, squeezing Michiru's hand tenderly. "Perhaps it was fate, or just a stroke of bad luck, but… if I hadn't taken that call, or if I had stopped to talk to you, the crash never would have happened. So if you are to blame, so am I, and know you only agreed to the operation because there was no other way…"

"I couldn't bear the thought of losing you", Michiru let her know in reply, her voice barely above a whisper as well, "you mean so much to me, I'd rather have you alive and hating me than dead…"

"I don't hate you", Haruka reassured her at once, now even sounding a bit shocked, "I never did and I never could. You mean very much to me, too, Michiru…"

None of them said the word "love" out loud, not yet; still though, as they smiled at each other across the table and Michiru moved her thumb to tenderly caress the back of Haruka's hand, both of them sure that this date and the words they had said to each other were just what they needed to patch their relationship up again.


	12. Chapter 12

"We should have brought an umbrella", Michiru commented after the main course had been eaten and dessert had been ordered, gazing out the window, holding hands across the table with Haruka again now that there was no food between them anymore, "I already feared it might rain before we left home, and now it started."

"Yeah", Haruka agreed, briefly looking outside as well before her gaze focused on Michiru yet again, looking at her with the warmth and love she had missed so much during the last six months, "luckily, the car's parked not too far away, huh?"

Nodding, Michiru smiled at her, then squeezed her hand, suddenly not getting enough of touching her; just feeling the skin of the taller woman beneath her fingertips sent shivers up and down on her spine, and she found herself wondering for the millionth time how it'd be to kiss the blonde again, after all those months without feeling her lips on hers. Still, she didn't make any move to kiss her, not wanting to act too rashly – they were on the path of making up, but still she feared that, if she made the wrong move at the wrong time, it all might go down the drain again, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

The waiter approaching the table with the desserts distracted her from those ponderings, and she involuntarily smiled as the mousse au chocolat was put down in front of her while Haruka had ordered a light orange parfait, both of the dishes looking quite tasty.

"So good", she sighed out after the first spoonful, rolling her eyes in delight and smiling when Haruka chuckled lowly, "want to try?"

"Sure, why not", the blonde smiled, expecting Michiru to hand her the spoon; instead of doing so though, the aqua haired girl filled it with the mousse, then leaned over the table and moved the spoon closer to the blonde's lips, giggling when obediently, Haruka opened her mouth and then leaned forward as well, the mousse gone from the spoon just a few seconds later.

"Really good", the blonde agreed after swallowing, "want to try mine, too?"

Smiling from ear to ear, Michiru nodded, suddenly feeling oddly light-headed; she had hoped that the date would go well when they had left their home, but she never had dared to hope for such an amazing evening with her partner, both of them acting just as they had before the accident after Haruka had finished the serious part with her apology.

Smirking as well, Haruka spooned up some of the parfait, then fed it to her partner the way she had been fed herself just moments ago; licking her lips, Michiru told her how yummy it was, the way Haruka's gaze flickered down to her mouth not missed by the aqua haired girl, only increasing her conviction that soon enough, she'd have the chance to kiss the blonde again, something she was looking forward to so much that it almost hurt her physically.

"I'm glad you came here with me tonight", the former racer now told her, distracting her once more, "I really missed… all of this. Being with you."

"Me too", Michiru told her at once, "I was so worried that we might never be able to patch things up again…"

"I can't guarantee that everything will be sunshine and rainbows from now on though", Haruka sighed after nodding her agreement to that, "I know it's not your fault, but… well, to be frank, the constant pain might make me testy, even if I don't want to take it out on you… it might happen."

"I understand", Michiru reassured her at once, reaching over the table once again to grasp her hand and hold it tenderly, "and I'd never hold this against you… I can't even begin to imagine how it must be to be in pain all the time. How is it now, after we sat here for almost two hours?"

"I can handle it", Haruka let her know, briefly making Michiru hope that she was telling the truth now and not trying to hide her pain, "I took a painkiller an hour before we left and another one when you went to the restroom earlier."

"Alright", Michiru gave back, briefly not sure if she should ask the question which was on her mind now, but then deciding that the time to hold back about such things was over, now that Haruka and she were getting their love back on track, thus speaking on a moment later, her voice kind and concerned, showing the blonde that there was no reproach in her question, but just worry. "How many of those are you taking each day…?"

"Depends", Haruka sighed, thinking of the almost empty bottle of painkillers in the inner pocket of her jacket, "if the weather's rainy, like today, I need more of them, the dampness tends to make it hurt more… or if I end up walking around a lot, or driving my car a lot. Not to mention that I need more of them whenever I pull of a little stunt like the one a few days ago."

"You really shouldn't do that", Michiru immediately scolded, forced to hold back a smile when the tall blonde looked slightly sheepish in reply, "it can't be good for your leg."

"I know it's not", Haruka sighed, reaching down to the cane and briefly touching the handle without even fully noticing it, "but you of all people should know how much I hate it to be dependant of anything or anyone, and being depending so much on that stupid cane, even to just take a single step…"

"I know it's not easy", the aqua haired girl reassured her, squeezing her hand once again, "but you know you can talk to me about this whenever you need to… I'll do anything to make this easier for you."

"I know", the former racer gave back with a slight smile, "and I'm thankful for it, especially after how I treated you… So… thanks."

"Nothing to thank me for", Michiru smiled, once more feeling like jumping with joy; the two just kept looking at each other across the table for a while, both of them awed by how well this evening was going, before they both focused on their dessert again, glancing at each other every now and then as they ate, already wondering what the rest of the evening might bring.

* * *

"Want my jacket so you can hold it over your head?" Haruka offered after she had paid the bill and they were on their way to the restaurant's exit; outside, rain was still pouring from the skies, puddles having formed here and there on the sidewalk, glistening in the artificial light of the street lamps.

"Nah, I'll be fine", Michiru decided, "it's not that far to the car after all…" After another doubtful look towards the sky, Haruka nodded, briefly regretting that she couldn't run anymore – thanks to her ruined leg, already walking fast was a challenge, but since she didn't want to end up soaked to the bone, she tried doing just that anyway, Michiru hurrying along beside her, giving her a concerned look as she noticed how much more laboured her walk seemed as she tried to be faster than usual.

"Haruka, be careful", the violinist admonished after half a minute, giving her another worried look, "I'd rather get wet all over than have you fall and—"

Before she could finish her sentence, exactly what she had been fearing happened – the blonde's cane landed in a puddle and slipped away from underneath her, her eyes briefly widening as she felt her leg take much more weight than it should. She just had a second to wonder if this time, maybe, it would support her weight after all, at least until she could try to put more of it on her healthy one; and then, it gave in beneath her and she involuntarily let out a hoarse cry as she fell, landing on all fours in the puddle which was responsible with a shockingly big splash.

"Haruka!" she heard Michiru cry out next to her, and then the violinist was on her knees as well, grasping her shoulders, "oh my God! Are you alright? Does it hurt?"

"Dammit", Haruka grunted in reply, fighting down the urge to slam her fist on the sidewalk in frustration, knowing this would only result in even more pain, clenching her hands into fists instead, all her bitterness about her situation coming back to the surface as she looked up at Michiru, the self-hatred the aqua haired girl could see in her teal eyes taking her aback, but before she could say anything, the taller woman spoke on, her words and the anger in her voice clenching up Michiru's heart.

"Why do you even bother?" she snapped, now slamming one fist down on the sidewalk after all, ignoring the pain which flared up in her hand, "after how I treated you, and with… with this… I can't even take a single step without that damned cane, you deserve better than this… I'm useless…"

"You're not useless", Michiru protested at once, grasping one of the blonde's hands with both of hers, "don't you even dare to think that! I told you, you mean so much to me, I can't even begin to imagine life without you…"

By now, both of them were soaked to the bone, the rain still pouring heavily from the sky, neither of them noticing though as they were both fully focused on each other, Haruka still with anger and bitterness in her gaze while Michiru's showed nothing but love and concern.

"I need you in my life", the violinist went on, making sure to keep holding her gaze so Haruka could see she meant every word, "how can you be useless if someone needs you so much? I couldn't go on without you…"

Not knowing what to reply, all Haruka could do was stare at her, once more asking herself what she had done to deserve this amazing woman in her life, a woman who had put up with all her crap so far without complaining once or even snapping back a single time, something the blonde still found hard to comprehend, knowing she would have blown up a hundred times, had she been treated the way she had treated Michiru.

"I was so happy when you asked me out today", Michiru told her, reaching up with one hand to tenderly cup her cheek, rain dripping from her long hair and to the sidewalk, "I've been hoping that we could… fix things between us ever since you woke up in that hospital and I had to tell you what they did… I need you Haruka, I can't live without you… Just by being around me, you make me the happiest person in the world, so how can you even think that you are useless?"

And then, before Haruka might have a chance to protest, to point out reasons why exactly she thought of herself as useless, Michiru leaned forward, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips to the taller woman's; and the moment their lips touched, they both forgot the fact that they were kneeling on soaking wet sidewalk, getting equally soaked thanks to the rain still falling from the skies, water dripping from their hair and clothes, the small rivulets trailing over Michiru's fingers as she moved her hand from the former racer's cheek to her neck, caressing the fine hair growing there, as she had done a million times before when they had kissed like this.

After the first few seconds of surprise, Haruka finally regained her senses enough to respond to the kiss, and did so with a passion and fervour that it was Michiru's turn to be surprised; somehow, Haruka managed to struggle in a kneeling position on her good leg without breaking the kiss, her arms wrapping around the smaller woman's waist and practically yanking her closer as the kiss deepened, prompting her to move her other hand to her neck as well, her fingers intertwining behind it while a small, content moan escaped her as she got lost in the kiss.

During the whole evening, she'd been looking forward to this, imagining how it would be to kiss Haruka again after all this time; she never had thought it would be so amazing though, having forgotten how sweet and soft the former racer's lips were and how she knew exactly what Michiru liked when it came to kissing, doing just that and making her tingle all over.

All at once, she needed to be even closer to the blonde, needed to feel her as much as it was humanly possible in this moment; her hands slid from her neck to her back so she could tighten her embrace around her, the kiss growing even more intense and passionate, her heart racing up to her throat as she completely forgo the world around her. Kissing Haruka, she reflected as she felt the taller woman caress her back and pull her even closer as well, until their bodies were pressed against each other, was one of the things she had missed the most during the past six months; already before the accident and its aftermath, she had been sure that she would never grow tired of feeling her partner's lips on hers, and the intensity with which they were kissing now only proved that theory yet again to her.

Finally, they had to pull apart again, dangerously close to running out of air; both of them were breathing heavily as they looked each other, still with their arms around each other, the taller woman's hands still caressing her back, neither of them caring anymore that they were kneeling on a wet sidewalk and that rain was still falling down on them.

"Let's go home", Michiru managed to say in a breathless voice after just looking into her partner's eyes in silence for half a minute; nodding, Haruka tore her gaze away from the violinist's with some difficulty to locate her cane, quickly finding and grasping it, coming to her feet again with the help of the smaller woman, suddenly not caring anymore that she had to lean on both the cane and Michiru to make it to the car, not even really noticing the pain in her leg, her thoughts too occupied by how good it had felt to kiss her partner again and how much she had missed just that during the past half year.


	13. Chapter 13

If anyone had told Setsuna after the accident that she'd sit at their home and anxiously wait for the couple to return from a date, she would have called them a fool, having been sure that sooner or later, either Haruka or Michiru would decide that things had been ruined beyond repair between them and that it would be best to break up; and still, this was what she was doing right now, pretending to be watching TV while she waited for the sound of the front door to open, a hundred unpleasant scenarios of what might occur afterwards dancing through her mind, ranging from Michiru coming home alone and in tears to Haruka returning just to pack up her things and leave them for good.

Next to her, Hotaru was much more successful about focusing on the TV, even though she was quite nervous about the outcome of the date as well; during the last six months, she had been hoping constantly that her parents would manage to rekindle the love between them, and when she had heard earlier that day that they were going out at last, her hopes had reached new heights, and the last thing she wanted to happen now was that they were shattered to tiny pieces by a bad end of the evening.

Thus, both Setsuna and she held their breath when they heard the key turn in the front door lock and the door open; and moments later, they both let out a relieved sigh when they heard Michiru's happy giggle, accompanied by Haruka's throaty chuckle, making it obvious within seconds that the date had gone exceedingly well.

"Setsuna-chan, Hime-chan!" Michiru then called out, after some scuffling sounds which indicated that they had taken off their shoes and jacket, "we're home!"

"We're in here!" Hotaru let her know in reply, raising her voice as well; and moments later, their footsteps approached the room, accompanied by the low thumps of Haruka's cane on the floor, the couple appearing in the doorway a short time later, the blonde's arm around Michiru's shoulders, both of them smiling in a way so honest and genuine that it warmed Hotaru's and Setsuna's heart.

"I take it you had fun then?" Setsuna wanted to know, giving especially Haruka a curious look; both of them nodded, then Michiru smiled up at the taller woman next to her, her eyes sparkling as she replied, without taking her gaze off Haruka for a second. "Indeed, we did… One of the nicest dates we've ever had."

Smiling back at her, the tall blonde nodded, then turned slightly so she was facing Michiru properly – before they made both Setsuna and Hotaru roll their eyes by exchanging several innocent, but sweet and tender kisses, smiling goofily at each other afterwards.

"And back you two are to the lovey dovey stuff", Setsuna commented, with a twinkle in her eyes though which showed that she wasn't fully serious, "tell me, must you go from one extreme to the other? Is there no middle ground for the two of you?"

"Be quiet", Haruka ordered, smirking slightly as well, "just be glad we're not making each other miserable anymore."

"I am, believe me", Setsuna reassured her at once; the blonde's smirk widened slightly in reply, then Michiru let out a tremendous yawn next to her, and immediately, the Senshi of time and space rolled her eyes again, only biting back a comment about how obviously, the younger Senshi wanted to get her companion into bed as fast as possible because Hotaru was there and was too young for such talk.

"Aw", Haruka let out at the yawn, her smile becoming much kinder as she looked down on her sleepy partner, "come on, let's get you into bed before you fall asleep right here in the doorway."

At the words "get you into bed", Setsuna let out a cough which earned her a dirty look from the former racer; confused, not sure what was going on, Hotaru looked from her papa to her Setsuna-mama, only to cringe when the blonde gave her a strict look and asked her if it wasn't bedtime for her, as well.

"But Haruka-papa", the young girl immediately whined, "it's Friday evening! Can't I stay up longer?"

"…fine", the blonde gave in quite quickly, making the child beam at her, "why not. Just don't stay up too long, alright?"

"Of course!" Hotaru trilled, clearly happy; smiling, Haruka shook her head slightly, then wished both Setsuna and their adopted daughter a good night, the elder woman wishing her the same with a mischief twinkle in her gaze which prompted the blonde to roll her eyes, neither her, nor Michiru making any comment though as they headed off towards the bedroom together.

* * *

"I'm so tired", Michiru sighed as she let herself drop down onto the kingsize bed, not even having changed out of her clothing yet, "and can you believe Setsuna-chan? She looked at us as if we'd start going at it like rabbits the moment the bedroom door closes behind us."

"Well, it's not like we never did that", Haruka reminded her of the more passionate times of their past, smirking slightly while she undid her tie and carelessly tossed it over the backrest of the nearest chair, "just remember that one time she walked in on us when we were close to doing it on the kitchen table."

"And all the times we did do it on the kitchen table and no one ever knew", Michiru giggled, finally sitting up again so she could change into her nightgown, as well, "if we ever told her about those, she'd eat in the living room."

"Until we'd tell her about the times we did on the couch there", Haruka shot back, making her partner laugh even harder; nodding, still smiling from ear to ear, Michiru got off the bed again at last, briefly taking a moment to look if Haruka was checking her out as she pulled off her skirt, then her blouse, presenting her underwear to the blonde.

To her delight, Haruka did look, but didn't make a move, something which never would have happened before the accident – whenever she had undressed like that in front of her partner, she more often than not had found herself pinned to the bed moments later and, if that hadn't occurred, at least had been pulled into an embrace to share a passionate kiss with her lover.

_Don't rush things, _she told herself while she removed her bra, then pulled her nightgown over her head, hearing how Haruka changed into her pyjama behind her, _you only just kissed tonight for the first time after six months without as much as a hug, and you know how she feels about her leg, don't rush her… _

Unbeknownst to her, Haruka had quite similar thoughts; she wanted the aqua haired girl, as much as she ever had and perhaps even more after the terrible half year during which they hadn't even really been partners, but the last thing she wanted to happen was scaring her off by acting too rashly about getting intimate with her again.

_Not to mention that there is this tiny problem of your messed up leg, _she thought to herself with a hint of the old bitterness as she finally finished changing and limped to the bed, letting herself fall down on the mattress before she leaned the cane against the nightstand where she could reach it easily and also find it in the dark, should the need to get up during the night arise, _you can't even look at it yourself without wanting to throw up, so how can you expect her to?_

She fought down the urge to glance at her ruined leg, even though by now, it was hidden beneath the pyjama fabric anyway; pushing those thoughts out of her mind, Haruka focused on Michiru instead, watching how the aqua haired girl got into bed next to her, looking hesitant for a moment – before she moved closer to her, a content sigh escaping her when at once, the tall blonde took her into a tender embrace.

"I missed this", she sighed once she had made herself comfortable in Haruka's arms, her head coming to a rest on the former racer's shoulder, "I'm not hurting you, am I…?"

"No", Haruka reassured her at once, moving one hand to lazily caress her hair, the tender touch making Michiru smile again, "not at all. It's perfect."

"Same here", the violinist sighed out, idly drawing invisible patterns on her partner's stomach with one index finger, "as I said, I really missed that… I'm so glad you asked me out tonight. What made you change your mind?"

"Ami and Makoto", Haruka replied with a rueful chuckle, "they came by the other day when Setsuna, Hotaru and you all had gone out, and, well, I guess you could say they washed my head. Especially Makoto, we nearly came to blows."

"What?" Michiru feigned surprise, sure that she was doing a good job about it, "really? Why?"

"Don't act so surprised", Haruka gave back dryly, causing Michiru to curse herself when she felt her cheeks heat up, a sure sign for a blush, "I know you asked them to talk to me, and I'm pretty sure they called you right after they were out the door."

"Um", the aqua haired girl let out in reply, not sure what to say now – from Haruka's tone, she didn't sound angry or annoyed about what she had done, but ever since the accident, she found it much harder to read her partner than before this life-changing event, and thus couldn't be sure if perhaps, the former racer wouldn't blow up on her after all.

_No, _she then told herself, still searching for the right words, _she won't, she didn't ask you out and is cuddling with you now just to get mad at you for this…_

"I'm glad you asked them to talk to me", Haruka now answered the ramblings of her partner's mind, smiling slightly, "to be honest, even if they hadn't come here, I probably would have snapped out of this whole blaming-you thing sooner or later, but they really helped me along, and it's just what I needed."

For a few moments, they both were silent, Haruka still caressing Michiru's hair; then, her hand moved down slightly and came to a rest on her partner's back, her voice low and soothing and so full of kindness and care that it made the aqua haired girl's heart clench up when she spoke on. "Now, you need to stop blaming yourself, as well."

"Working on it", Michiru hoarsely gave back, all at once feeling close to tears; obviously satisfied with this, Haruka nodded, then bent down so she could kiss her partner, a deep, but tender kiss, and immediately, Michiru responded, wrapping both arms around the taller woman and holding on to her the way a drowning woman might hold on to the life-saving piece of wood drifting by, a few tears escaping her and rolling down her cheeks as they kissed, leaving her unsure if they had been tears caused by the blonde's words – or by the happiness about the forgiveness she finally had been granted.


	14. Chapter 14

In the next morning, Setsuna's brief doubts that the happiness she had witnessed between Haruka and Michiru had just been a dream on her part, some wishful thinking which had trickled into her subconscious after she had fallen asleep on the couch, was shattered when the couple entered the kitchen together, still dressed in their nightwear; and for the first time since the accident, Haruka was letting Michiru help her move along, not leaning on the cane as heavily as she usually did in the early mornings, thanks to the aqua haired girl's support.

"There are our lovebirds", she immediately teased, "I thought you'd never get up."

"Quiet", Haruka grumbled at her, sitting down at the kitchen table and yawning heartily before she went on, "I'd still be asleep if this smaller lovebird here hadn't woken me up."

"Not my fault", Michiru protested, already moving to the coffee machine to prepare the stuff her partner would need now, "you moved like crazy in your sleep and kicked me."

"So tired?" Setsuna kept it up with the teasing when Haruka just let out another yawn in reply, a mischief glint in her eyes, "had a long night yesterday?"

"Setsuna-chan", Michiru scolded, to the time Senshi's amusement blushing brightly, "I told you, I was tired. We just went to bed."

"I know you did", Setsuna dryly gave back, unperturbed by her friend's obvious discomfort; deciding that ignoring her was the wisest thing to do, Michiru just shook her head, then focused on the coffee machine, Haruka's eyes lighting up when she got done and the black liquid started to run through with the tell-tale blubbering and gurgling noises.

"You, my dear", she then told Michiru, not even acknowledging what Setsuna had said moments ago with a look in her direction, "are awesome."

"Why thank you", Michiru smiled in reply, moving over to the table and bending down for a kiss; briefly, she almost sat down on the taller woman's lap, something she had done quite a lot before the accident, then remembered the fact that her partner's right leg was practically ruined and that perhaps, sitting on it wasn't such a good idea.

If Haruka had noticed what she nearly had done, she didn't comment on it, merely looking at her for a moment longer after the tender kiss – before her gaze moved to the coffee machine, filled with so much longing that it made the aqua haired girl laugh.

"Patience, my dear", she then said, using the endearment without thinking about it twice, noticing though how it made the blonde's eyes briefly light up again while Setsuna merely rolled her eyes this time, "coffee's almost done."

"Thank God", Haruka sighed in reply, then got distracted by Hotaru entering the kitchen and rubbing her eyes sleepily; despite her still rather drowsy state though, the girl picked up on the good mood and the relaxed atmosphere in the kitchen, a smile forming on her face while she sat down next to Haruka and nodded when Setsuna asked her if she wanted cereal for breakfast.

"Make sure to brush your teeth after that", Haruka advised while she reached over to ruffle Hotaru's hair, ever the caring Haruka-papa, "you don't wanna get cavities and go to the dentist, right?"

"No", Hotaru shuddered at once, making the three adults smile, "I'd rather not. We can brush our teeth together after breakfast Haruka-papa!"

"Sure", the blonde smiled, and then, finally, to her delight, the coffee was done; not wanting her partner to put too much strain on her leg, Michiru prepared a cup for her just the way she liked it, putting it down in front of her and prompting her to thank her with another tender kiss before the aqua haired girl focused on preparing her own breakfast, unable to keep the smile off her face as she did so, glad that everything had worked so well since Haruka had asked her out for the date.

* * *

An hour later, Haruka had retreated to her office, explaining that she needed to get some work done, even though it was obvious that she rather would have spent the time with Michiru, not even necessarily with kissing or cuddling, but simply being in her general vicinity; since, despite their newfound love though, the couple still needed money, she had no other choice than getting to work, grumbling to herself as she sat in front of her laptop and tried to focus on the schedule for the day.

Unbeknownst to her, Michiru was having similar troubles downstairs; since she was busy with doing the dishes, she didn't need to focus as much as Haruka had to upstairs, but still her daydreaming and longing nearly resulted in an accident as she almost dropped a plate, to Setsuna's exasperation.

"Jeez, Michiru-chan", the elder woman scolded, rolling her eyes, "you're acting as if you're a school girl with a crush! In fact, I don't believe you were as bad when you still _were_ a school girl and had a crush on Haruka-chan."

"Actually, I think I was", Michiru gave back, smiling slightly, not the least bit perturbed by her friend's annoyance, "I distinctly remember drawing little doodles of her into my notebooks at school whenever classes were boring."

"Don't let Hime-chan hear that", Setsuna replied with another roll of her eyes, "and now get away from that sink and let me finish this, before you break something after all. Go to your art room or something."

Even though the words had been said with the intention to get rid of her, and thus weren't all too kind, Michiru's eyes lit up – she hadn't painted a single line in the last six months, but suddenly, she was sure that now, inspiration would come to her the moment she'd see the blank canvas, thus nodding enthusiastically before she thanked Setsuna for this great idea and rushed off, the elder woman looking after her with a mixture of exasperation and amusement in her gaze.

Making her way to the art room so fast that she nearly was running, Michiru entered the room in a hurry, realizing a second later that she had been right – the moment she looked at the empty canvas, she knew what she wanted to paint, already seeing the picture so clearly in front of her mind's eye as if she had finished it already.

Not even bothering to change into old clothing which wouldn't suffer, should she get paint on it, Michiru quickly started mixing colours, working so fast that she nearly spilled some of them; she briefly had troubles finding the right mix to achieve a certain sandy-blonde colour, then finally had her palette done, sitting down in front of the easel with her favourite paintbrush in hand, a tingle of excitement rushing through her as she slowly drew the first line.

As always when she felt really inspired, time soon lost all meaning as she painted, her gaze fixed on the canvas without flickering away for even a second; and soon, the image she had imagined started to show, her gaze softening as she drew the sharp lines of a face and added a wild lock of hair to the blonde mess of it she already had put on top of the head.

"This is gonna look great", she mumbled to herself as she went on painting, now focusing on the clothing she had put on the object of her piece of art; she briefly paused to add more paint on her brush, then moved it over the canvas again, her eyes sparkling as the image became clearer and clearer, by now so developed that anyone else would have recognized what her painting was showing as well.

She got so lost in her work that she didn't even hear the knocking on her door, especially since that she was getting close to the finishing touching; had she taken a look at the time, it would have astounded her how fast she had gotten done, only torn out of her work-induced trance though when the door opened and a familiar, low and husky voice reached her ears, breaking her concentration.

"Michiru, can't you hear me?" Haruka complained as she entered the room, "I've been knocking for the past… five minutes…"

She trailed off as her gaze fell on the easel, then just stood there, looking at the painting in silence; suddenly nervous, Michiru lowered her paintbrush, dimly and to her slight astonishment realizing that it was lunch time already and that she had been in her art room for four hours, something which was forgotten though the moment she looked at Haruka again and waited for her reaction.

Without saying a word, Haruka slowly moved closer to the painting, her eyes never leaving it, the only sound in the room being the breathing of the two women and the low thumps of the former racer's cane on the tiled floor; without even noticing fully, Michiru held her breath as she waited for a reaction, suddenly not so sure anymore if this had been a good idea.

To her dismay, Haruka remained quiet as she studied the painting from up close; even to someone who had only seen her once, it was obvious that it showed her, standing on an idyllic looking beach, with the wind tousling her hair and close enough to the sea so that the water was touching the soles of her shoes – and the cane Michiru had added to the picture, even having thought of painting the blonde in a way which it made obvious that she was leaning on said cane rather heavily.

And still, despite the cane and the way she stood in the painting, anyone could see the strength in her athletic build and the determination in her eyes and the way her jaw was set as she looked off into the distance; the initial disbelief and even slight anger she had felt when she had seen what Michiru had painted puffed away when she realized what the painting was focusing on, namely not her ruined leg or the cane she had to use, but on the fact that she still was strong despite all of this.

"…this is beautiful", she finally had to admit, tearing her gaze away from the picture and looking at her partner, "is this how you see me…?"

"Yes", Michiru gave back, so relieved that it nearly made her cry, "and not just that, this is how you are, Haruka…"

"I'm not so sure about that", Haruka mumbled in reply, her gaze now dropping down to the carpet, "and not because of my leg and the cane, if that's what you think now. Of course it's painful and annoying that I can't even walk without a damned stick, but… I wish I had handled it better. I wish I hadn't blamed you."

"I blamed myself, too", Michiru reminded her in reply, stepping closer to her and hugging her, glad when the embrace was returned with one arm moments later, "part of me still does. Even though you told me not to. And even though you blamed me, and hated what happened to you, you lived with it, and still do, every day, showing how brave and strong you are…"

"I couldn't do it without you", Haruka brought out in a voice even hoarser than usual; for a few moments, Michiru just looked her in the eyes as an answer, then responded by pulling her down for a tender, but deep kiss, once more making her forget all her pain and bitterness about what had happened as their lips met, until nothing else mattered but the smaller woman in her embrace.


	15. Chapter 15

During the next two weeks, Haruka and Michiru worked on getting their relationship fully back on track; twice, the blonde snapped at her partner during that time, in moments when her leg was especially painful, something she instantly regretted at both occasions though and immediately apologized, Michiru forgiving her without a second of hesitation.

Even though they grew closer and closer again during those fourteen days, until they almost had reached the level of closeness they'd had before the accident, they didn't make any confessions of love to each other; and they didn't get any more intimate than kissing and cuddling, both feeling that it was still too early to do anything which involved any loss of clothing, with Haruka additionally burdened by her worries about how Michiru might react to the sight of her damaged leg, the aqua haired girl not having seen her naked once since the accident.

At least though, Michiru was making it more than clear to her partner that she no problems with people staring at them whenever they went out; at first, Haruka still had been reluctant to go outside more than absolutely necessary, not wanting people to see her laboured walk and how she had to put most of her weight on a cane, but thanks to the violinist and her gentle persistence, she soon gave up her resistance, going on walks with her girlfriend and out for dinner and lunch.

Despite the progress she was making about going out, she still avoided meeting the Inners as much as she reasonably could; one more meeting happened during those two weeks, at Rei's temple yet again, and again, Haruka didn't attend, using work as an excuse, with Michiru letting it slide though, knowing her partner well enough to figure that it couldn't be easy for her to meet her friends after what had happened to her.

"Usagi-chan commented on how much she misses you again", the aqua haired girl still remarked after she had returned from the meeting and had joined her partner in the office, the blonde giving her a wry look in reply, at least having the grace to look a bit ashamed when she replied.

"I know", she mumbled, looking back at the laptop and the e-mail she had been working on when Michiru had entered, "and I promise I'll come to a meeting with you sooner or later, it just feels so awkward right now."

"I understand", Michiru reassured her, moving closer to the desk and crouching next to it, grasping one of the taller woman's hands, "but you know they won't think any different of you."

"Yeah", Haruka agreed, to her relief finally looking at her again, not even trying to shut her out this time, as she had done a few times during the last two weeks, "but still… Just imagine some random daimon pops up while we're meeting. I couldn't even help in the fight then, I'd just be a burden, someone in need of protection instead of doing the protecting."

"You know I'd give my life to protect you", Michiru replied, so sincere that the former racer was a bit taken aback, "and so what? How often have we ended up saving the asses of the Inners over the years?"

"Did you really just say asses?" Haruka inquired, in a rather lame attempt to change the topic – but to her delight and slight surprise, it worked, the aqua haired girl blushing slightly as she cleared her throat, making her partner smirk.

"Yes, I did", Michiru then admitted, guiltily glancing around as if she was expecting Hotaru to pop out of a shadowy corner any moment and remember that certain bad word, well aware of how she always scolded Haruka whenever the blonde used such language if there was just the tiniest chance that their adopted daughter might be within earshot, "but you can't deny it's true!"

"Of course it is", Haruka gave back, rolling her eyes and making her partner giggle while her blush slowly faded again, "without us back then, they would probably died a dozen times and the world would have been doomed."

"Most likely", Michiru agreed, laughing, then stretched so she could kiss the taller woman, her heart speeding up again the moment she could taste Haruka's lips on hers, once again astonished how a simple, innocent kiss already had this kind of effect on her, and only astounded even more by the knowledge that it was just the same for her partner.

"Mmm", she dreamily let out after the kiss, "that was nice."

"Just nice?" Haruka asked in reply, managing to put on quite the offended look despite the army of butterflies in her stomach, "I'm offended. I remember when you described my kisses with… world-shaking."

"That, my dear, was a horribly lame pun", the violinist told her in reply, making her chuckle throatily; they smiled at each other, then Michiru announced that she would go and prepare dinner, making the taller woman nod, the two sharing another kiss before the aqua haired girl left the office and made her way downstairs while Haruka remained where she was, still thinking about the things Michiru had said to her about meeting the Inner Senshi again.

* * *

An hour after dinner, the whole unorthodox family had assembled in the living room for leisure time together, something which hadn't happened once during the six months after the accident and before the date, but took place more or less regularly again now; Setsuna was lounging on the couch, reading a book, not really paying attention to what the other three were doing, just content to be in their general vicinity and to enjoy the happy and relaxed atmosphere in the room.

On the floor, Michiru sat with Hotaru, playing a board game with the younger girl and giving her strict looks whenever she rolled the dice in such a way that it gave her an advantage over her adoptive mother; and in the comfortable armchair, Haruka sat, her bad leg resting on the footstool which had come with the chair, a sports magazine in her lap, its content forgotten though as she watched Hotaru and Michiru play, with so much warmth and care in her eyes that it made the violinist's heart melt whenever she looked up at her partner.

"I'm winning", Hotaru now declared, pride in her voice as she gazed up at her Haruka-papa happily, "just one more card and I won!"

"Well done", Haruka praised, making the young girl's smile widen while Michiru huffed, giving the board a dismayed look; giggling at the aqua haired girl's obvious unhappiness, Hotaru rolled the dice yet again, cheering loud enough to make Setsuna flinch when she got just the number she had needed to win the game.

"Congrats", Haruka smirked as the little girl started a small victory dance around the living room; it was astonishing how, ever since Galaxia had been defeated, Hotaru had developed from a sickly thin girl to the healthy twelve year old she was now, her skin no longer so dreadfully pale, a happy and alive sparkle in her eyes as she looked up at the tall blonde.

"Wanna play with me now?" she asked, to the relief of the three women not displaying any of the smugness another girl her age might have shown after winning a game; to her dismay, Haruka shook her head, a hint of regret in her voice when she replied, the younger girl to her relief understanding her reasoning though. "I don't think sitting on the floor is such a good idea Hime-chan, what with my leg and all."

"We could play on the table if it wasn't so cluttered", Hotaru admonished, shaking her head as she looked at said table, magazines and pages with various designs Setsuna had made for clothing covering the wooden surface, the elder Senshi having shown her work to Michiru earlier that evening, "but since Setsuna-mama isn't cleaning this up…"

"I will", Setsuna immediately gave back, finally looking up from her book, "just not right now."

"Lazy", Haruka took the chance given for teasing immediately while Michiru got up from her seat on the floor and moved to the armchair, lowering herself on the armrest and balancing precariously on it, prompting the blonde to put one arm around her waist and making her smile, "shame on you, Setsuna-chan, you're supposed to be an example for Hime-chan."

"Says the woman who'd let dishes gain intelligent life if we didn't have a dishwasher", Setsuna shot back at once, making Michiru giggle slightly – before the accident, she had been slightly annoyed by the constant need both Haruka and Setsuna seemed to have to tease each other, but now, after not having heard their banter for half a year, she relished every second, glad that things had gone back to normal after their first date two weeks ago.

"You two", she threw in before Haruka had a chance for a retort, "both shouldn't talk. I'm the one most devoted to the housework in this house."

"As if", Setsuna immediately shot back with the response Michiru had expected; and within seconds, a playful argument had started among the three women while Hotaru rolled her eyes, then smiled to herself – just like Michiru, she had missed those moments, the times when they all reverted to childish antics and arguments, forgetting for a few minutes that they were supposed to be the mature and serious ones of the Senshi. Even though Haruka never had been as mean to her as she had been to Michiru during the past half year, and always had treated her with kindness even after the accident, Hotaru had been just as miserable about the situation as anyone else in the household; she never had been treated any different by any of her three mothers, but still had witnessed enough of Haruka's behaviour towards Michiru and Setsuna to be hurt by it, and was just as glad as the three adults that things were getting back on track.

"The way you are behaving now", she spoke up when brief silence had paused the argument, "none of you is an example for me. You're all behaving like the Inner Senshi!"

"Take that back right now!" Haruka and Setsuna demanded in perfect unison while Michiru could just stare and blink – and then, all four of them collapsed with laughter, the blonde for a few precious seconds not even aware of the chronic pain in her leg as her heart was filled with happiness and contentment, making her feel as good as she had almost each and every day before the accident.


	16. Chapter 16

"Yes, I will", Michiru just was saying on the phone as Haruka entered the living room another three days later, the thumping of her cane on the carpet having already announced her before Michiru spotted her in the doorway, immediately smiling as her gaze met the taller woman's, "see you soon then. Take care until then. Of course, you too. Bye!"

With the last word, she put the receiver down, then moved over to the blonde and put both arms around her waist, her smile widening when at once, Haruka returned the embrace, sounding slightly curious when she asked whom Michiru had been talking to.

"Makoto-chan", Michiru let her know in reply, "it's the one year anniversary of Ami and her next week, and she invited us to the celebration in her café."

"Oh", Haruka replied, sounding not all too enthusiastic, but not really surprising Michiru – after all, her reservations about going into public with her cane and her limp still hadn't changed much, no matter how often the aqua haired girl reassured her that the Inner Senshi didn't mind and didn't think any different of her.

"Ami-chan and Makoto-chan really would like you to come", Michiru told her in a soft voice, her hands coming to a tender rest on the blonde's back, "they went all of us to be there when we celebrate their love…"

"Just like our four year anniversary party, huh", Haruka gave back with a weak smirk; nodding, Michiru smiled back much heartier, caressing the taller woman's back tenderly as she replied. "Yes, just like that… That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, except for when Minako-chan got the idea that she should have hired a stripper", Haruka replied, rolling her eyes and making Michiru laugh as she remembered how Minako had snatched up the phone to do just that and how the other Inners had tried to stop her, succeeding after quite a bit of squabbling and struggling, to the relief of both Haruka and Michiru.

"Let's hope she won't get such an idea this time", she giggled, making the former racer smirk slightly again while she nodded; then, her face grew serious again though, making it obvious to Haruka that her not so brilliant tries to steer the conversation away from her joining the party hadn't really worked out.

"Seriously, though", Michiru confirmed that suspicion, looking up at her sincerely, "they'd really love you to come. And I'll be there with you the whole time, you know you can do this, Ruka…"

Under different circumstances, if this had been about anything else than meeting the Inner Senshi, the pet name might have been enough to push Haruka over the edge and make her agree; since she now again was painfully aware of her damaged leg though, of the cane she depended on and the laborious walk which had been forced upon her, the taller woman merely let out a sigh instead of agreeing, giving her partner a slightly dismayed look afterwards.

"I can't promise anything", she then let the violinist know, at least not declining outright, "but I'll think about it. I got a lot of work to do, you know…"

"I know", Michiru reassured her, even though she knew that the work Haruka was talking about was merely an excuse – her little one-man-agency was going well, but she hadn't taken on so many clients that she had to work day and night to take proper care of them all, "just tell me when you made up your mind. I'd be happy if you could make it, though…"

"I'll think about it", Haruka repeated, even though it broke her heart that she couldn't give Michiru the answer she wanted to hear; ever since they had patched things up between them, all she wanted was to make the violinist happy, and the fact that she couldn't grant her this request, simple as it was, made her curse fate and the accident and her messed up leg all over again, bringing a hint of her old bitterness back to her soul as she let out another sigh.

"I won't be angry or disappointed or anything if you decide not to go", Michiru let her know, momentarily surprising her with how well she was reading her, "but as I said, I'd be really glad if you'd go there with me…"

Not wanting to tell her that she'd think about it for a third time, Haruka just nodded; the smaller woman smiled up at her, then stood at the tips of her toes for a brief kiss, the feeling of the violinist's lips on hers once again sending the former racer's heartbeat through the roof and making her wonder how she had managed to live six months without this amazing sensation.

"Enough talk about anniversaries and meeting the Inners now", Michiru decided after the kiss, to Haruka's obvious relief, "is there any particular reason you came downstairs? Do you need anything?"

"Nah", the blonde shrugged, "just decided I'd take a break and see what my lovely girlfriend is up to."

"How sweet", Michiru sighed, touched by the taller woman's words – before the accident, such things hadn't been rare between them, but ever since they had started to patch their relationship up, she cherished and treasured each of these moments even more than she had before.

Smirking down on her, Haruka shrugged, then bent down for another kiss; and afterwards, she changed the topic to a more mundane one by asking her partner what she had planned for dinner, the aqua haired girl eagerly telling her, already looking forward to her whole family assembled around the dining table again, just the way it was supposed to be.

* * *

"So I'll have to go to the track tomorrow, there's no way to avoid it", Haruka told the other three during dinner with a roll of her eyes; despite the exaggerated annoyance she was displaying, Michiru smiled slightly, knowing very well that just a few weeks ago, the thought of going to the racetrack would have caused cold sweat to break out all over her partner's body.

"I already can picture it", Haruka went on, rolling her eyes yet again, "they'll all be melodramatic about my return and make cheesy statements about how it's not the same without me."

"Don't be mean, Haruka-papa", Hotaru scolded at once, shaking her head at her father's behaviour, "what if they really mean it?"

"They probably do", Setsuna commented before the former racer could reply anything, "because I kept an eye on them, and their winning streak ended when you had to leave."

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better", Haruka dryly gave back, and for a moment, Michiru felt like snapping at Setsuna for being so thoughtless – before she saw the amused twinkle in her partner's eyes and realized that it was yet another instance of playful banter between the Senshi of time and space and the taller woman, making it her turn to roll her eyes.

"Are you gonna drive there yourself?" she asked the tall blonde before she had a chance to shoot a remark back and take the conversation on a completely new track; it didn't surprise her that Haruka nodded at once, but what did surprise her was what her partner said next. "I will, but if you want to tag along, you're more than welcome… I know the guys probably missed you too, if only so they can hit on you and annoy me."

"…yes, they always liked doing that", Michiru gave back after a moment of stunned silence – she hadn't expected Haruka to offer taking her along to track so fast, still remembering well how long it had taken the blonde to introduce her to her teammates when they had first started dating, all those years ago, having expected the taller woman to take quite some time again before she'd let her back into this part of her life, no matter if they were patching things up or not.

"So?" Haruka prodded, making her realize she hadn't told her if she wouldn't come along yet, "are you gonna come…?"

"Yes, of course", Michiru let her know at once, smiling, "I'm glad you asked me. It'd be nice to spend time there with you again, and to see all the guys again."

"They'll be thrilled", Haruka smiled, then Hotaru cried out about how she wanted to go too and how unfair it was that she couldn't due to school, prompting Haruka to reach over and ruffle her hair, her voice kind when she promised her that she'd take her to the track on a Saturday to make up for missing the meeting there tomorrow.

"Then, I can also show you around", she sweetened the deal even further, making the little girl smile again, "tomorrow, you'd be bored anyway, all we'll do is talk cars and races."

"But Michiru-mama will be bored, too, then", Hotaru pointed out a fatal flaw in her papa's reasoning, only to make Michiru smile slightly as she reached over to grasp the blonde's hand, her eyes filled with warmth when she was the one to reply to this. "I'm never bored when I'm with Haruka…"

"So much lovey-dovey", Setsuna smirked as the couple beamed at each other, "as I said, it's always from one extreme to the next with the two of you. No middle ground."

"Middle grounds are for pussies", Haruka shot back without thinking, only to clap one hand over her mouth, mortified, when she realized Hotaru was in the room with them; next to her, Michiru gasped, then looked just as horrified while Setsuna fought to hold back laughter and Hotaru just stared, finding it hard to believe that her papa would use such crass language.

"Forget you ever heard that", the blonde hurriedly advised, before Michiru could scold her; still dumbstruck, Hotaru just nodded, then giggled as her papa blushed brightly and her Michiru-mama finally got over her shock enough to start the scolding, Setsuna just rolling her eyes, albeit with a small smile on her face, just as glad as the rest of them that finally, things were back to normal in the Outer Senshi household.


	17. Chapter 17

"Michiru-san!" The cry of the mechanics and race car drivers was loud enough to even drown out the sound of the motor being tested nearby, causing Haruka to grimace at the enthusiastic reaction her former team mates had to her partner; next to her, Michiru beamed at the men, glad to see that she still recognized them all and remembered their names, even though it gave her heart a slight pang to realize that the only one who had been replaced since the accident had been Haruka, making it obvious once again how well this team had and still was working.

"And Haruka-san!" one of the older mechanics finally seemed to notice the blonde as well, his gaze moving to her as he smiled brightly, the taller woman noticing that he was making quite the effort to not look at her leg and cane, "how nice to see you here again, after all this time!"

"Yeah, that pleasure's likewise", Haruka told him as he gripped her free hand with both of his for a few moments, giving it a tender, but still hearty squeeze; his smile widened even further, only to vanish from his face seconds later as he asked her how she was doing, now, finally, glancing down on the cane, the rest of the team listening in breathless silence as they waited for her answer.

"Oh, well, you know", Haruka tried to avoid giving a too detailed answer, "I'm hanging in there. Michiru's helping a lot, and of course so are Setsuna-chan and Hime-chan… and business is going well, so I won't need to worry about money anytime soon."

Even though he knew how awful things had been Haruka and Michiru, having heard the rumours which had been all over the racing scene after the accident, the mechanic just nodded and smiled; the blonde smiled back at him, then her gaze found the young racer she'd met with a while ago, a smirk curling her lips when he immediately blushed the very second her eyes fell on him.

"Tenoh-san", he immediately started to talk, making several of his team mates roll their eyes, "I'm really sorry about what I said at our meeting", at those words, he went as far as bowing, forcing Haruka to bite back laughter, "I didn't mean to be inconsiderate or rude, I just tend to thoughtless when I'm excited", yet another bow, and next to her, the tall blonde could hear Michiru snort as she struggled against giggles as well, "and I never meant any harm with my words, I'd be forever honoured if you'd forgive me and be my manager!"

"It's alright", Haruka reassured him while he bowed for a third time, and the sharp intake of breath she heard from Michiru made it clear that holding back laughter just had become even harder for her partner, "I have to apologize too, for storming off like that, but sometimes, my temper gets the better of me."

"Don't we all know that", another one of the racers laughed, making the others chuckle as well, the violinist taking the chance given by this and letting out the giggles she had been holding back, "I still remember the time Haruka-san put a dent in a hood because she hit it with her fist so hard!"

"You never told me that", Michiru immediately admonished, giving her partner a strict look, even though her mouth twitched when she saw Haruka blush; clearing her throat, the blonde shot the tattling racer a dirty look, then looked at the man she would manage again soon once more, asking him if he had a moment so they could speak somewhere in private.

"Of course, of course", the young man replied eagerly, looking as if he was about to bow yet again; before he could do so though, and perhaps send Michiru into hysterics at his expense after all, Haruka moved over to him as quickly as she could, for once not self-conscious about her labouring walk, and asked him to follow her, something he gladly did with a huge grin on his face.

* * *

While Haruka was talking to the young racer in the break room, the only room they could use for their little meeting, Michiru spent the time with the mechanics and other racers; they all knew her from the races she had attended when her partner still had been driving, and were overjoyed to see her again, leaving their work be for a while just so they could talk to her.

"Long time no see, Michiru-san", one of them beamed at her, almost bouncing on the spot and forcing her to hold back a giggle, amused and touched by their enthusiasm, "how come you haven't been here for so long?"

"What a stupid question", one of the racers threw in before the aqua haired girl could reply, shaking his head, "of course she didn't come here because Haruka-san wasn't coming here! Did you expect her to visit us alone?"

"How is Haruka-san doing?" the eldest mechanic of the team, and the one who always had cared the most about the couple, almost seeing Haruka as some sort of daughter, was the next one to speak up, changing the topic from the playful banter to a more serious one; giving him a kind smile, Michiru was secretly glad that he asked her this now, when the blonde finally started to accept what had happened to her, and that she hadn't run into him during the time Haruka had been constantly angry and bitter about the accident.

"She's getting better", she thus told him, not wanting to reveal too much, knowing Haruka wouldn't be happy to know that she had told her deepest emotions to the man, even though they always had gotten along very well, "of course her leg will never get better, but she's starting to accept that…"

"It's a shame that this had to happen to her", the mechanic sighed, shaking his head, "such bad luck. After I heard what had happened, I looked it up and it said that muscle death is really rare."

"It is", Michiru nodded, "they'd never treated it in that particular hospital before, and at first, they wanted to amputate the whole leg… They weren't sure how removing the dead muscle tissue would affect her in the long term, it only has been done once before…"

"I imagine Haruka was quite upset when she woke up and heard of this", the mechanic grimaced, making Michiru nod; and even though she didn't want to remember these dreadful moments, she couldn't help it, but had to think back to the moment she'd been forced to face Haruka about her decision, her heart clenching up at the unpleasant memory, but unable to keep the pictures from resurfacing from the depths of her mind.

_Just when Michiru approached the door leading to Haruka's room, it opened and the blonde's doctor stepped outside; he gave her a brief, but sympathetic look, making her wonder what was up, but before she could try to ask him, he had turned away and was marching down the hallway, making his way to the next patient._

_Shrugging it off, Michiru entered the room, smiling slightly as she stepped inside; the moment her gaze met Haruka's though, her smile faded, as one look on the taller woman's face told her that Haruka knew, that she knew what had been done and why it had been done, and that she hadn't taken the news lightly._

"_Haruka", she still said, giving her best to sound cheerful and not as if her heart was now hammering up to her throat, "I came here the moment they told me you woke up, I'm so glad you'll be fine…"_

"_Fine is a generous word, isn't it", Haruka gave back, her voice even hoarser than usual, still weak from how long she had been comatose, "considering what the doctor told me."_

"_It had to be done", Michiru gave back at once, all her worst nightmares ever since she had made that decision coming true in that instant – from the moment on she had told the doctor what to do, she had lain awake at night, thinking of all the unpleasant changes this would mean to Haruka's life, asking herself if she had done the right thing after all, and clearly, the blonde had been having the same thoughts ever since she had been told what they had been forced to do to her leg, the knowledge showing in her darkened gaze as she looked at the violinist._

"_Haruka", Michiru tried again, moving closer to the bed and reaching for the blonde's hand, hurt clearly showing on her face when Haruka pulled away from her, "I'm sorry… But we had no choice, it was poisoning you and…"_

"_So you told them to remove it", Haruka almost snapped, her gaze darkening even further, "and ruin my life?"_

"_The only other option was amputation", Michiru still tried to reason, "or letting you die! Would you rather have died?"_

"_Get out", Haruka flatly replied, now looking away from her and out the window, her gaze suddenly not dark anymore, but empty of all emotion, "now."_

"_Haruka…" Michiru tried once more, and suddenly, the anger was back in the racer's teal eyes as her gaze flickered back to her partner, the raw emotion nearly making the aqua haired girl flinch._

"_Get out!" Haruka snapped at her, clenching her fists on the blanket, "I don't want you in here! You ruined my life, Michiru, so get the Hell out!"_

_And that was just what Michiru did, turning around so fast that she nearly lost her balance and rushing towards the door, tears blurring her sight as she hurried out of the room, suddenly knowing that everything Haruka and she had been fighting for had been destroyed, that any chance for a happy life they might have had now that all threats were gone had been removed along with the dead muscle in her partner's leg._


	18. Chapter 18

"So", Michiru stated several days later as they all sat at the breakfast table together, looking at Haruka lovingly, the blonde immediately smiling back at her, "today's the anniversary celebration, Haruka, did you make up your mind yet?"

"I don't think I'll be able to make it", Haruka replied at once, not really surprising Michiru, but disappointing her nonetheless, "now that I'm managing my replacement in the racing team, I got a lot to do, the sponsors are falling over each other trying to make us choose them…"

"What a pity", the violinist gave back, while Hotaru frowned at her papa, clearly not buying the blonde's words, "Makoto-chan and Ami-chan will be disappointed, I imagine…"

"I'm sure they'll understand", Haruka muttered, glancing away from her and into her coffee cup, stirring the dark liquid with great concentration, even though she hadn't poured any sugar into it, "give my best to them for me, alright?"

"I will", Michiru promised her, making herself smile at the taller woman – after all, she had promised her that she wouldn't hold it against her, should she decide not to come along, and thus didn't want Haruka to see her disappointment, a charade Hotaru noticed immediately, her frown deepening slightly.

"Well", the blonde now said, picking up her coffee with one hand and grabbing her cane with the other, "I better get back upstairs, much to do, you know…" She moved over to Michiru, then bent down to kiss her briefly, but gently, making the aqua haired girl smile slightly and tell her not to overdo it before the taller woman left the kitchen, the thumping of her cane slowly fading away as she made her way upstairs.

"Haruka-papa shouldn't be that way", Hotaru mumbled as soon as she could be sure her papa was out of earshot, "you really wanted her to go there with you, right?"

"Yes", Michiru sighed, momentarily awed by their adopted daughter's powers of observation and reading both Haruka and her, "but if she doesn't want to, I'm not going to make her. She's not ready to face them yet, you know…"

"That's stupid", Hotaru grumbled, surprising and slightly shocking Michiru with her choice of words, "she should know they won't mind, I mean, Makoto-chan and Ami-chan were here and they didn't! Surely the rest won't either!"

"Give her time", Michiru told the young girl in reply, smiling calmingly at her adopted daughter, "sooner or later, she'll come to realize this, as well, and you know how she reacts if someone tries to pressure her into doing something she doesn't want to do…"

"I know", Hotaru sighed, still sounding and looking annoyed; the aqua haired girl smiled at her, then reached over to caress her hair briefly, but tenderly before she got up from her seat and let Hotaru know that she'd retreat to her small study, eager to get some painting done now that the inspiration to do so had returned.

Finally smiling back at her, the young girl wished her good luck with her painting; this earned her yet another smile from the violinist, then Michiru left the kitchen and headed for her study, both Hotaru and her unaware of the fact that Haruka had been standing on top of the stairs and had heard every word they had exchanged.

* * *

"Thanks again for the invitation", Michiru smiled several hours later, "and Haruka asked me to give her best to the two of you, unfortunately, she couldn't make it…"

She noticed how Makoto and Ami exchanged a look at hearing this, but both of them were tactful enough to not say anything; they just thanked her for coming and for delivering Haruka's message, then gestured at the big table at the back of the café and asked her to sit down.

"I tried to make Mako close down for the day", Ami informed her as they made their way to said table, where the Inners were already sitting, "but she absolutely wouldn't, so stubborn. I'm sure you know all about being with a stubborn woman."

"Indeed", Michiru gave back with a slight smile; the two smirked at each other, then Michiru sat down, ending up next to Rei, nodding when Ami asked if Setsuna and Hotaru would join them, too.

"They'll come here a bit later", she then explained, "Hotaru has a project to finish for school, and Setsuna's really inspired about a design she wanted to get done before leaving."

"Mako-chan has been inspired about their anniversary cake!" Usagi cried before Ami could reply to this, "just wait, it'll be so amazing!" Her eyes started to sparkle, and Michiru giggled, something which came much easier to her now that things with Haruka were back on track; next to her, Rei rolled her eyes, then scolded the future Queen for being so gluttonous, her words immediately causing Usagi to start wailing about how mean the Senshi of Fire always was with her.

"Oh, quit it", Makoto snapped as she finally joined the group and took the seat next to Ami, rolling her eyes in annoyance, "both of you. No fighting today, remember? You promised."

"Sorry", Rei and Usagi murmured in perfect unison and rare agreement; pleased, Makoto smiled, then asked Michiru what she wanted to drink, not surprised when the aqua haired girl chose tea in response – even though by now, they all were old enough to drink, they hardly ever did so, well aware of the fact that they might ended up in a fight from one moment to the next, and after the disastrous fight they had gone through once when half of them had been tipsy, they usually steered clear of any kinds of alcohol.

"So", Usagi spoke up again while Makoto called for one of her waiters and ordered Michiru's tea, "when will we get the cake?"

"Soon enough", the taller Senshi replied with a roll of her eyes, making the aqua haired girl giggle yet again, "don't worry, Usagi-chan, you won't starve at my party."

"I was never worried about that!" Usagi protested at once, shaking her head with fervour, "I've just been looking forward to this all week! To the cake and the cookies and of course pudding, if anyone of you doesn't want their portions I'll gladly eat it, just so…"

She kept babbling on about how much she wanted to eat and how she was looking forward to the food, but Michiru tuned her out, having heard such words from her a thousand times by now; instead of focusing on the babble of her future Queen, the violinist thought of her partner again, wondering what she was doing right now, if she was sitting in her little office and regretted that she hadn't come along after all.

"Michiru-chan", Minako's voice distracted her from those thoughts, making her look across the table and the perky blonde, "how are you doing? We haven't had some girl talk in ages!"

"Minako-chan, we just met a few weeks ago", the elder Senshi gave back, amused; shrugging, Minako waved her words aside, then asked her how she was doing, making her shrug as well before she told her that she was doing well, making the Senshi of Love beam at her moments later by telling her that she was working on a new painting.

"Finally!" Minako then cried out, looking as if she wanted to jump over the table to hug Michiru, "it's been a while since you painted, right?! How is it going?!"

"Fine", Michiru smiled, touched by the blonde's enthusiasm, "I'm really inspired, it's been going as well as…"

She had been planning to say that it was going as well as it had before Haruka's accident, but the by now very familiar _thump… thump… thump…_ of a cane on wooden floor interrupted her; she felt her heart speed up, then told herself not to be stupid as she slowly turned in her seat so she could look at the door, surely there were thousands, if not more, people on Tokyo using a cane…

"Haruka-chan!" Usagi shrieked, causing Rei to flinch next to Michiru while Ami squeezed her eyes shut momentarily and Minako nearly choked on the sip of tea she just had been taking, only to end up getting almost thrown off her seat when Usagi jumped up quite enthusiastically, crying out to Haruka again, the taller woman giving her a slightly sheepish smile, clearly not having expected this kind of reaction.

Smiling widely as well, Michiru got up from her seat and hurried to where her lover stood closer to the door, briefly making her wonder if she would have walked right back out, had the other Senshi reacted with anything else than joy and happiness to see her; all of them were smiling though, Usagi now moving closer to the blonde as well and pulling her into a hug, to Michiru's relief not even glancing at the cane for a second.

"Glad you could make it", Makoto now stated as she moved closer as well, not hugging the taller blonde, but briefly touching her shoulder, "come on, take a seat, what would you like to drink? Rei-chan, move so Haruka-chan can sit next to Michiru-chan!"

"Sure", Rei agreed at once, moving to the next free seat so Haruka take the one next to her partner; gladly, the former racer did so, her leg acting up quite a bit again after the drive to the café and the short walk from the parking lot to the building where it was located, forcing her to hold back a grimace as she lowered herself onto the chair, not wanting to just drop down on it the way she usually did, well aware of how clumsy she already had to look just walking around.

"So nice you came!" Usagi gushed, nearly sitting down next to her, only remembering in the last second that this was Michiru's seat and stopping herself, "it's been so long, Haruka-chan!"

"Yeah, well, sorry about that", Haruka gave back, having the decency to look slightly ashamed, "but I was quite busy…"

"Of course, of course", Usagi nodded understandingly, "you must be so busy, being a manager now! What is it like to be a manager?!"

"Stressful", Haruka gave back, not all too talkative; to her relief, Makoto saved her by telling Usagi that the blonde wasn't here to talk about work, then asked her once again what she wanted to drink, smiling when, just like Michiru, she ordered tea.

"Hiroshi-kun!" the brunette then hollered so unexpectedly that it made Haruka flinch, "more tea over here please!"

"Yes Makoto-san!" a young guy cried back from the counter, then hurried off; smiling, Makoto told them that he was the talented young waiter she recently had hired, then finally sat down again as well, waiting until Haruka's drink had been brought before she raised her glass.

"Let's toast", she beamed, conveniently ignoring that Setsuna and Hotaru hadn't arrived yet, "to the anniversary of Ami and me, and to Haruka-chan and Michiru-chan finally figuring out again that they belong together!"

"Makoto-chan", Haruka mumbled, shaking her head while next to her, her partner blushed slightly; Makoto just grinned and winked at her, then cried out "Banzai!", prompting the rest to echo the cry, all of them taking sips of their drinks afterwards, the Inner Senshi cheering happily when right after putting down her glass again, Haruka decided to go with the flow and bent down to innocently, but tenderly kiss Michiru, feeling the aqua haired girl smile against her lips at the happy sounds coming from their friends, making her glad that she had decided to come to the party after all.


End file.
